Weight Determining Systems and Methods for Vehicular Seats

ABSTRACT

Vehicular seat including a weight determining system for obtaining an indication of the weight of an occupying item in the seat includes a seat support structure, a cushion arranged on the seat support structure, the cushion having an upper surface over which the occupying item is situated during occupancy of the seat and being arranged to deflect downward during occupant of the seat, and a sensor system arranged to sense the downward deflection of the cushion and convert the downward deflection into an indication of the weight of the occupying item. The sensor system may include an elongate cable, a cable support retaining a first end of the cable and a displacement sensor arranged at a second end of the cable for measuring linear variations of the cable which are convertible into the indication of the weight of the occupying item.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is:

1. a continuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/940,881 filed Sep. 13, 2004 which is:

A. a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/061,016 filed Jan. 30,2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,833,516, which is a CIP of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/901,879 filed Jul. 9, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No.6,555,766, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/849,559 filed May 4, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,962, which is aCIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/193,209 filed Nov. 17, 1998,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701 which is a CIP of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/128,490 filed Aug. 4, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854,which is:

-   -   a) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/474,783 filed        Jun. 7, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,707, and    -   b) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/970,822 filed        Nov. 14, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,757;

B. a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/174,803 filed Jun. 19,2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,958,451, which is:

-   -   1) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/500,346 filed        Feb. 8, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,504, which is a CIP of        U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/128,490, filed Aug. 4, 1998,        now U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854;    -   2) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/849,558 filed        May 4, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,577, which is a CIP of U.S.        patent application Ser. No. 09/193,209 filed Nov. 17, 1998, now        U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701;    -   3) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/849,559 filed        May 4, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,962;    -   4) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/901,879 filed        Jul. 9, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,766;    -   5) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,186 filed        Jan. 2, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,080;    -   6) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/767,020 filed        Jan. 23, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,316; and    -   7) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/770,974 filed        Jan. 26, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,367;

C. a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/227,781 filed Aug. 26,2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,342, which is:

-   -   1) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/061,016 filed        Jan. 30, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,833,516; and    -   2) a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/500,346 filed        Feb. 8, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,504;

D. a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/931,288 filed Aug. 31,2004, which is a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/303,364filed Nov. 25, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,784,379, which is a CIP of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/174,803 filed Jun. 19, 2002, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,958,451;

2. a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/278,979 filed Apr. 7,2006 which is a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/940,881 filedSep. 13, 2004;

3. a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/420,297 filed May 25,2006 which is a CIP of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/278,979 filedApr. 7, 2006.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. Nos.10/895,121 filed Jul. 21, 2004, Ser. No. 11/010,819 filed Dec. 13, 2004and Ser. No. 11/191,850 filed Jul. 28, 2005 on the grounds that theycontain common subject matter.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus fordetermining weight of an occupying item of a seat and more particularlyto methods and apparatus for determining weight of an occupying item ofa vehicular seat by sensing displacement of the seat.

The present invention also relates to methods and apparatus forcontrolling a vehicle component, system or subsystem based on thedetermined weight of an occupying item of a seat. The vehicle component,system or subsystem, hereinafter referred to simply as a component maybe a system such an as airbag system, the deployment or suppression ofwhich is controlled based on the occupancy of the seat and/or locationof the seat. The component may also be an adjustable portion of a systemthe operation of which might be advantageously adjusted based on theoccupancy of the seat and/or the location of the seat, such as a devicefor regulating the inflation or deflation of an airbag that isassociated with an airbag system.

In addition, the component may be any adjustable component of thevehicle including, but not limited to, the bottom portion and backrestof the seat, the rear view and side mirrors, the brake, clutch andaccelerator pedals, the steering wheel, the steering column, a seatarmrest, a cup holder, the mounting unit for a cellular telephone oranother communications or computing device and the visors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

All of the patents, patent applications, technical papers and otherreferences mentioned below and in the parent applications mentionedabove are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety unlessstated otherwise.

Background information about the embodiments of the invention claimedherein is found in the '881 application, incorporated by referenceherein, in particular in section 6 of the Background of the Inventionsection. Definitions of terms used in the instant application are alsoset forth in the '881 application, namely section 15 of the Backgroundof the Invention section, and the same definitions can be appliedherein.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below and unlessspecifically noted, it is the applicant's intention that the words andphrases in the specification and claims be given the ordinary andaccustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the applicable art(s).If the applicant intends any other meaning, he will specifically statehe is applying a special meaning to a word or phrase.

Likewise, applicant's use of the word “function” here is not intended toindicate that the applicant seeks to invoke the special provisions of 35U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, to define his invention. To the contrary,if applicant wishes to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixthparagraph, to define his invention, he will specifically set forth inthe claims the phrase “means for” or “step for” and a function, withoutalso reciting in that phrase any structure, material or act in supportof the function. Moreover, even if applicant invokes the provisions of35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, to define his invention, it is theapplicant's intention that his inventions not be limited to the specificstructure, material or acts that are described in the preferredembodiments herein. Rather, if applicant claims his invention byspecifically invoking the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph,it is nonetheless his intention to cover and include any and allstructure, materials or acts that perform the claimed function, alongwith any and all known or later developed equivalent structures,materials or acts for performing the claimed function.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Objects of the present invention include:

To provide a system and method wherein the weight of an occupant isdetermined utilizing sensors located on the seat structure.

To provide apparatus and methods for measuring the weight of anoccupying item on a vehicle seat which may be integrated into vehicularcomponent adjustment apparatus and methods which evaluate the occupancyof the seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to theoccupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component inits entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.

To provide vehicular seats including a weight measuring feature andweight measuring methods for implementation in connection with vehicularseats.

To provide adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancyof the seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to theoccupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component inits entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat and on ameasurement of the occupant's weight or a measurement of a force orpressure exerted by the occupant on the seat.

To provide seat pressure or weight measurement systems in order toimprove the accuracy of another apparatus or system that utilizesmeasured seat pressure or weight as input, e.g., a component adjustmentapparatus.

To provide an improved seat pressure or weight measurement system andthereby improve the accuracy of another apparatus or system whichutilizes measured seat pressure or weight as input, e.g., a componentadjustment apparatus.

To provide a system for passively and automatically adjusting theposition of a vehicle component to an optimum or near optimum locationbased on the size of an occupant.

To provide a seat pressure or weight measuring system based on thedisplacement of the seat To provide an occupant sensing system thatcomprises both a seat pressure or weight measuring system and a spatialsensing system.

To provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and methods thatevaluate the occupancy of the seat by a combination of ultrasonicsensors and additional sensors and adjust the location and/ororientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of thecomponent or the component in its entirety based on the evaluatedoccupancy of the seat.

To provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and methods thatreliably discriminate between a normally seated passenger and a forwardfacing child seat, between an abnormally seated passenger and a rearfacing child seat, and whether or not the seat is empty and adjust thelocation and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation ofa part of the component or the component in its entirety based thereon.

Accordingly, in order to achieve one or more of the objects above, avehicular seat including a weight determining system for obtaining anindication of the weight of an occupying item in the seat in accordancewith the invention includes a seat support structure, a cushion arrangedon the seat support structure, the cushion having an upper surface overwhich the occupying item is situated during occupancy of the seat andbeing arranged to deflect downward during occupant of the seat, and asensor system arranged to sense the downward deflection of the cushionand convert the downward deflection into an indication of the weight ofthe occupying item.

The sensor system may comprises an elongate cable, a cable supportretaining a first end of the cable and a displacement sensor arranged ata second end of the cable for measuring linear variations of the cablewhich are convertible into the indication of the weight of the occupyingitem. The cable may be arranged to stretch axially as a function of theweight of the occupying item and the displacement sensor is arranged todetermine the axial stretching of the cable. The displacement sensor maycomprise a rod connected to the cable and arranged to move upon axialstretching of the cable as a function of the weight of the occupyingitem, the displacement sensor being arranged to measure the movement ofthe rod. The displacement sensor can include a cylinder having a channelin which the rod is movable, and a spring biased to return the rod to arest position. The cylinder may include first and second windings of alinear variable differential transformer which are axially spaced apartfrom one another, in which case, movement of the rod is measured by theamount of coupling between the first and second windings. Thedisplacement sensor can also include a biasing system, e.g., a springfor biasing the cable into a non-displaced position in which it assumesin the absence of an occupying item on the seat.

Supports may be arranged at opposed edges of the cushion with the cablesupport and the displacement sensor being coupled to a respectivesupport, or more generally, the sensor system being supported from thesupports.

The cushion may include a foam layer and a spring system arranged underthe foam layer, possibly in contact with the sensor system. The cablemay then be arranged under the spring system such that deflection of thespring system causes axial stretching of the cable. Alternatively, thesensor system include at least one strain gage arranged in associationwith the spring system to measure strain in the spring system.

In one embodiment, the sensor system converts the downward deflectioninto the indication of the weight of the occupying item using arelationship between the downward deflection and weight obtainedexperimentally.

In a specific embodiment, the sensor system comprises at least onespring arranged under the cushion and to expand as a function of thepressure applied to the upper surface of the cushion, and at least oneforce-measuring device for measuring tension in the at least one spring.The force-measuring device may be a strain gage. In this case,optionally, the sensor system include an interrogator for wirelesslyinterrogating the strain gage.

In another embodiment, the sensor system comprises at least one straingage arranged in a bottom surface or support pan of the cushion tomeasure strain in the bottom surface or support pan.

A method for obtaining an indication of the weight of an occupying itemin a vehicular seat in accordance with the invention includes arranginga cushion on a support structure of the seat, the cushion having anupper surface over which the occupying item is situated during occupancyof the seat, arranging a sensor system in a position in which itoperatively senses downward deflection of the cushion, and determiningthe weight of the occupying item when it applies pressure to the uppersurface of the cushion by sensing the downward deflection of the cushionand converting the downward deflection into an indication of the weightof the occupying item. The determination of the weight of the occupyingitem may entail experimentally deriving a relationship between downwarddeflection of the cushion and weight of an occupying item applyingpressure to the upper surface of the cushion.

A method for identifying an occupant of a vehicular seat in accordancewith the invention includes obtaining an indication of the weight of theoccupant in accordance with claim 19 and classifying the occupant basedat least in part on the obtained indication of the weight of theoccupant. Optionally, an additional morphological characteristic orcharacteristics of the occupant is determined and the occupantclassified based at least in part on the determined additionalmorphological characteristic(s) and the obtained indication of theweight of the occupant.

The invention also encompasses a control system for controlling avehicle component based on occupancy of a seat having a seat supportstructure and a cushion arranged on the seat support structure, thecushion having an upper surface over which an occupying item is situatedduring occupancy of the seat and being arranged to be displaced downwardduring occupant of the seat. The control system comprises a sensorsystem arranged to sense the downward deflection of the cushion andconvert the downward deflection into an indication of the weight of theoccupying item, an adjustment system arranged to adjust the component inthe vehicle, and a processor coupled to the sensor system and to theadjustment system for determining an adjustment for the component by theadjustment system based at least in part on the indication of the weightof the occupying item provided by the sensor system. The adjustmentsystem may be a system for adjusting deployment of an occupant restraintdevice. The occupant restraint device may be an airbag and thedeployment adjustment system arranged to control flow of gas into theairbag, flow of gas out of the airbag, rate of generation of gas and/oramount of generated gas.

Other and further objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will be understood by reference to the following specificationin conjunction with the annexed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the inventionand are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as encompassed bythe claims.

FIG. 1 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicleshowing the passenger compartment containing a rear facing child seat onthe front passenger seat and a preferred mounting location for anoccupant and rear facing child seat presence detector including anantenna field sensor and a resonator or reflector placed onto theforward most portion of the child seat.

FIG. 2 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed showingschematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoringsystem of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and thevehicle cellular or other telematics communication system including anantenna field sensor.

FIG. 3 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicleshowing the passenger compartment containing a box on the frontpassenger seat and a preferred mounting location for an occupant andrear facing child seat presence detector and including an antenna fieldsensor.

FIG. 4 is a side view with parts cutaway and removed of a vehicleshowing the passenger compartment containing a driver and a preferredmounting location for an occupant identification system and including anantenna field sensor and an inattentiveness response button.

FIG. 5 is a side view, with certain portions removed or cut away, of aportion of the passenger compartment of a vehicle showing severalpreferred mounting locations of occupant position sensors for sensingthe position of the vehicle driver.

FIG. 6 shows a seated-state detecting unit in accordance with thepresent invention and the connections between ultrasonic orelectromagnetic sensors, a weight sensor, a reclining angle detectingsensor, a seat track position detecting sensor, a heartbeat sensor, amotion sensor, a neural network, and an airbag system installed within avehicle compartment.

FIG. 6A is an illustration as in FIG. 6 with the replacement of a straingage weight sensor within a cavity within the seat cushion for thebladder weight sensor of FIG. 6.

FIG. 6B is a schematic showing the manner in which dynamic forces of thevehicle can be compensated for in a weight measurement of the occupant.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a vehicle showing the position of theultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors relative to the driver and frontpassenger seats.

FIG. 8A is a side planar view, with certain portions removed or cutaway, of a portion of the passenger compartment of a vehicle showingseveral preferred mounting locations of interior vehicle monitoringsensors shown particularly for sensing the vehicle driver illustratingthe wave pattern from a CCD or CMOS optical position sensor mountedalong the side of the driver or centered above his or her head.

FIG. 8B is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from anoptical system using an infrared light source and a CCD or CMOS arrayreceiver using the windshield as a reflection surface and showingschematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoringsystem of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and aninstrument panel mounted inattentiveness warning light or buzzer andreset button.

FIG. 8C is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from anoptical system using an infrared light source and a CCD or CMOS arrayreceiver where the CCD or CMOS array receiver is covered by a lenspermitting a wide angle view of the contents of the passengercompartment.

FIG. 8D is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from apair of small CCD or CMOS array receivers and one infrared transmitterwhere the spacing of the CCD or CMOS arrays permits an accuratemeasurement of the distance to features on the occupant.

FIG. 8E is a view as in FIG. 8A illustrating the wave pattern from a setof ultrasonic transmitter/receivers where the spacing of the transducersand the phase of the signal permits an accurate focusing of theultrasonic beam and thus the accurate measurement of a particular pointon the surface of the driver.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of the seated-state detecting unit of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 10(a), 10(b) and 10(c) are each a diagram showing theconfiguration of the reflected waves of an ultrasonic wave transmittedfrom each transmitter of the ultrasonic sensors toward the passengerseat, obtained within the time that the reflected wave arrives at areceiver, FIG. 10(a) showing an example of the reflected waves obtainedwhen a passenger is in a normal seated-state, FIG. 10(b) showing anexample of the reflected waves obtained when a passenger is in anabnormal seated-state (where the passenger is seated too close to theinstrument panel), and FIG. 10(c) showing a transmit pulse.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of the data processing of the reflected waves fromthe ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors.

FIG. 12 a flowchart showing the training steps of a neural network.

FIG. 13 a is an explanatory diagram of a process for normalizing thereflected wave and shows normalized reflected waves.

FIG. 13 b is a diagram similar to FIG. 13 a showing a step of extractingdata based on the normalized reflected waves and a step of weighting theextracted data by employing the data of the seat track positiondetecting sensor, the data of the reclining angle detecting sensor, andthe data of the weight sensor.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the interior of the passengercompartment of an automobile, with parts cut away and removed, showing avariety of transmitters that can be used in a phased array system.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a vehicle containing an adult occupantand an occupied infant seat on the front seat with the vehicle shown inphantom illustrating one preferred location of the transducers placedaccording to the methods taught in at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein.

FIG. 16 is a schematic illustration of a system for controllingoperation of a vehicle or a component thereof based on recognition of anauthorized individual.

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of a method for controllingoperation of a vehicle based on recognition of an individual.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a seat shown in phantom, with a movableheadrest and sensors for measuring the height of the occupant from thevehicle seat, and a weight sensor shown mounted onto the seat.

FIG. 18A is a view taken along line 18A-18A in FIG. 18.

FIG. 18B is an enlarged view of the section designated 18B in FIG. 18.

FIG. 18C is a view of another embodiment of a seat with a weight sensorsimilar to the view shown in FIG. 18A.

FIG. 18D is a view of another embodiment of a seat with a weight sensorin which a SAW strain gage is placed on the bottom surface of thecushion.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a one embodiment of an apparatus formeasuring the weight of an occupying item of a seat illustrating weightsensing transducers mounted on a seat control mechanism portion which isattached directly to the seat.

FIG. 20 illustrates a seat structure with the seat cushion and backcushion removed illustrating a three-slide attachment of the seat to thevehicle and preferred mounting locations on the seat structure forstrain measuring weight sensors of an apparatus for measuring the weightof an occupying item of a seat in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 20A illustrates an alternate view of the seat structure transducermounting location taken in the circle 20A of FIG. 20 with the additionof a gusset and where the strain gage is mounted onto the gusset.

FIG. 20B illustrates a mounting location for a weight sensing transduceron a centralized transverse support member in an apparatus for measuringthe weight of an occupying item of a seat in accordance with theinvention.

FIGS. 21A, 21B and 21C illustrate three alternate methods of mountingstrain transducers of an apparatus for measuring the weight of anoccupying item of a seat in accordance with the invention onto a tubularseat support structural member.

FIG. 22 illustrates an alternate weight sensing transducer utilizingpressure sensitive transducers.

FIG. 22A illustrates a part of another alternate weight sensing systemfor a seat.

FIG. 23 illustrates an alternate seat structure assembly utilizingstrain transducers.

FIG. 23A is a perspective view of a cantilevered beam type load cell foruse with the weight measurement system of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein for mounting locations of FIG. 23, for example.

FIG. 23B is a perspective view of a simply supported beam type load cellfor use with the weight measurement system of at least one of theinventions disclosed herein as an alternate to the cantilevered loadcell of FIG. 23A.

FIG. 23C is an enlarged view of the portion designated 23C in FIG. 23B.

FIG. 23D is a perspective view of a tubular load cell for use with theweight measurement system of at least one of the inventions disclosedherein as an alternate to the cantilevered load cell of FIG. 23A.

FIG. 23E is a perspective view of a torsional beam load cell for usewith the weight measurement apparatus in accordance with the inventionas an alternate to the cantilevered load cell of FIG. 23A.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of an automatic seat adjustment system,with the seat shown in phantom, with a movable headrest and sensors formeasuring the height of the occupant from the vehicle seat showingmotors for moving the seat and a control circuit connected to thesensors and motors.

FIG. 25 is a view of the seat of FIG. 24 showing a system for changingthe stiffness and the damping of the seat.

FIG. 25A is a view of the seat of FIG. 24 wherein the bladder contains aplurality of chambers.

FIG. 26 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of an occupantrestraint device control system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart of the operation of one embodiment of anoccupant restraint device control method in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 28 is a view showing an inflated airbag and an arrangement forcontrolling both the flow of gas into and the flow of gas out of theairbag during the crash where the determination is made based on aheight sensor located in the headrest and a weight sensor in the seat.

FIG. 28A illustrates the valving system of FIG. 28.

FIG. 29A is a schematic drawing of the basic embodiment of theadjustment system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 29B is a schematic drawing of another basic embodiment of theadjustment system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart of an arrangement for controlling a component inaccordance with the invention.

FIG. 31 is a side plan view of the interior of an automobile, withportions cut away and removed, with two occupant height measuringsensors, one mounted into the headliner above the occupant's head andthe other mounted onto the A-pillar and also showing a seatbeltassociated with the seat wherein the seatbelt has an adjustable upperanchorage point which is automatically adjusted based on the height ofthe occupant.

FIG. 32 is a view of the seat of FIG. 24 showing motors for changing thetilt of seat back and the lumbar support.

FIG. 33 is a view as in FIG. 31 showing a driver and driver seat with anautomatically adjustable steering column and pedal system which isadjusted based on the morphology of the driver.

FIG. 33A is a schematic showing the manner in which the steering columnis adjusted based on the morphology of the driver.

FIG. 33B is a view similar to FIG. 33 and shows the use of two motorsfor adjusting the position of the steering wheel.

FIG. 34 is a view similar to FIG. 24 showing the occupant's eyes and theseat adjusted to place the eyes at a particular vertical position forproper viewing through the windshield and rear view mirror.

FIG. 35A is a perspective view showing a shipping container includingone embodiment of the monitoring system in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 35B is a cross-sectional view of the shipping container shown inFIG. 35A.

FIG. 36A is a flow chart showing one manner in which a container ismonitored in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 36B is a cross-sectional view of a container showing the use ofRFID technology in a monitoring system and method in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 36C is a cross-sectional view of a container showing the use ofbarcode technology in a monitoring system and method in accordance withthe invention.

FIG. 37 is a flow chart showing one manner in which multiple assets aremonitored in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 38 is a diagram of one exemplifying embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 39 is a schematic view of overall telematics system in accordancewith the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Note whenever a patent or literature is referred to below it is to beassumed that all of that patent or literature is to be incorporated byreference in its entirety to the extent the disclosure of thesereference is necessary. Also note that although many of the examplesbelow relate to a particular vehicle, an automobile, the invention isnot limited to any particular vehicle and is thus applicable to allrelevant vehicles including shipping containers and truck trailers andto all compartments of a vehicle including, for example, the passengercompartment and the trunk of an automobile or truck.

1. General Occupant Sensors

Referring to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a side view, withparts cutaway and removed of a vehicle showing the passengercompartment, or passenger container, containing a rear facing child seat2 on a front passenger seat 4 and a preferred mounting location for afirst embodiment of a vehicle interior monitoring system in accordancewith the invention. The interior monitoring system is capable ofdetecting the presence of an object, occupying objects such as a box, anoccupant or a rear facing child seat 2, determining the type of object,determining the location of the object, and/or determining anotherproperty or characteristic of the object. A property of the object couldbe the orientation of a child seat, the velocity of an adult and thelike. For example, the vehicle interior monitoring system can determinethat an object is present on the seat, that the object is a child seatand that the child seat is rear-facing. The vehicle interior monitoringsystem could also determine that the object is an adult, that he isdrunk and that he is out of position relative to the airbag.

In this embodiment, three transducers 6, 8 and 10 are used alone, or,alternately in combination with one or more antenna near fieldmonitoring sensors or transducers, 12, 14 and 16, although any number ofwave-transmitting transducers or radiation-receiving receivers may beused. Such transducers or receivers may be of the type that emit orreceive a continuous signal, a time varying signal or a spatial varyingsignal such as in a scanning system and each may comprise only atransmitter which transmits energy, waves or radiation, only a receiverwhich receives energy, waves or radiation, both a transmitter and areceiver capable of transmitting and receiving energy, waves orradiation, an electric field sensor, a capacitive sensor, or aself-tuning antenna-based sensor, weight sensor, chemical sensor, motionsensor or vibration sensor, for example.

One particular type of radiation-receiving receiver for use in theinvention receives electromagnetic waves and another receives ultrasonicwaves.

In an ultrasonic embodiment, transducer 8 can be used as a transmitterand transducers 6 and 10 can be used as receivers. Naturally, othercombinations can be used such as where all transducers are transceivers(transmitters and receivers). For example, transducer 8 can beconstructed to transmit ultrasonic energy toward the front passengerseat, which is modified, in this case by the occupying item of thepassenger seat, i.e., the rear facing child seat 2, and the modifiedwaves are received by the transducers 6 and 10, for example. A morecommon arrangement is where transducers 6, 8 and 10 are alltransceivers. Modification of the ultrasonic energy may constitutereflection of the ultrasonic energy as the ultrasonic energy isreflected back by the occupying item of the seat. The waves received bytransducers 6 and 10 vary with time depending on the shape of the objectoccupying the passenger seat, in this case the rear facing child seat 2.Each different occupying item will reflect back waves having a differentpattern. Also, the pattern of waves received by transducer 6 will differfrom the pattern received by transducer 10 in view of its differentmounting location. This difference generally permits the determinationof location of the reflecting surface (i.e., the rear facing child seat2) through triangulation. Through the use of two transducers 6, 10, asort of stereographic image is received by the two transducers andrecorded for analysis by processor 20, which is coupled to thetransducers 6, 8, 10, e.g., by wires or wirelessly. This image willdiffer for each object that is placed on the vehicle seat and it willalso change for each position of a particular object and for eachposition of the vehicle seat. Elements 6, 8, 10, although described astransducers, are representative of any type of component used in awave-based analysis technique. Also, although the example of anautomobile passenger compartment has been shown, the same principle canbe used for monitoring the interior of any vehicle including inparticular shipping containers and truck trailers.

Wave-type sensors as the transducers 6, 8, 10 as well as electric fieldsensors 12, 14, 16 are mentioned above. Electric field sensors and wavesensors are essentially the same from the point of view of sensing thepresence of an occupant in a vehicle. In both cases, a time varyingelectric field is disturbed or modified by the presence of the occupant.At high frequencies in the visual, infrared and high frequency radiowave region, the sensor is based on its capability to sense a change ofwave characteristics of the electromagnetic field, such as amplitude,phase or frequency. As the frequency drops, other characteristics of thefield are measured. At still lower frequencies, the occupant'sdielectric properties modify parameters of the reactive electric fieldin the occupied space between or near the plates of a capacitor. In thislatter case, the sensor senses the change in charge distribution on thecapacitor plates by measuring, for example, the current wave magnitudeor phase in the electric circuit that drives the capacitor. Thesemeasured parameters are directly connected with parameters of thedisplacement current in the occupied space. In all cases, the presenceof the occupant reflects, absorbs or modifies the waves or variations inthe electric field in the space occupied by the occupant. Thus, for thepurposes of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein,capacitance, electric field or electromagnetic wave sensors areequivalent and although they are all technically “field” sensors theywill be considered as “wave” sensors herein. What follows is adiscussion comparing the similarities and differences between two typesof field or wave sensors, electromagnetic wave sensors and capacitivesensors as exemplified by Kithil in U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,634.

An electromagnetic field disturbed or emitted by a passenger in the caseof an electromagnetic wave sensor, for example, and the electric fieldsensor of Kithil, for example, are in many ways similar and equivalentfor the purposes of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. Theelectromagnetic wave sensor is an actual electromagnetic wave sensor bydefinition because they sense parameters of an electromagnetic wave,which is a coupled pair of continuously changing electric and magneticfields. The electric field here is not a static, potential one. It isessentially a dynamic, rotational electric field coupled with a changingmagnetic one, that is, an electromagnetic wave. It cannot be produced bya steady distribution of electric charges. It is initially produced bymoving electric charges in a transmitter, even if this transmitter is apassenger body for the case of a passive infrared sensor.

In the Kithil sensor, a static electric field is declared as an initialmaterial agent coupling a passenger and a sensor (see Column 5, lines5-7: “The proximity sensor 12 each function by creating an electrostaticfield between oscillator input loop 54 and detector output loop 56,which is affected by presence of a person near by, as a result ofcapacitive coupling, . . . ”). It is a potential, non-rotationalelectric field. It is not necessarily coupled with any magnetic field.It is the electric field of a capacitor. It can be produced with asteady distribution of electric charges. Thus, it is not anelectromagnetic wave by definition but if the sensor is driven by avarying current, then it produces a quasistatic electric field in thespace between/near the plates of the capacitor.

Kithil declares that his capacitance sensor uses a static electricfield. Thus, from the consideration above, one can conclude thatKithil's sensor cannot be treated as a wave sensor because there are noactual electromagnetic waves but only a static electric field of thecapacitor in the sensor system. However, this is not believed to be thecase. The Kithil system could not operate with a true static electricfield because a steady system does not carry any information. Therefore,Kithil is forced to use an oscillator, causing an alternate current inthe capacitor and a reactive quasi-static electric field in the spacebetween the capacitor plates, and a detector to reveal an informativechange of the sensor capacitance caused by the presence of an occupant(see FIG. 7 and its description). In this case, the system becomes a“wave sensor” in the sense that it starts generating an actualtime-varying electric field that certainly originates electromagneticwaves according to the definition above. That is, Kithil's sensor can betreated as a wave sensor regardless of the shape of the electric fieldthat it creates, a beam or a spread shape. As follows from the Kithilpatent, the capacitor sensor is likely a parametric system where thecapacitance of the sensor is controlled by the influence of thepassenger body. This influence is transferred by means of the nearelectromagnetic field (i.e., the wave-like process) coupling thecapacitor electrodes and the body. It is important to note that the sameinfluence takes place with a real static electric field also, that is inabsence of any wave phenomenon. This would be a situation if there wereno oscillator in Kithil's system. However, such a system is not workableand thus Kithil reverts to a dynamic system using time-varying electricfields.

Thus, although Kithil declares that the coupling is due to a staticelectric field, such a situation is not realized in his system becausean alternating electromagnetic field (“quasi-wave”) exists in the systemdue to the oscillator. Thus, his sensor is actually a wave sensor, thatis, it is sensitive to a change of a wave field in the vehiclecompartment. This change is measured by measuring the change of itscapacitance. The capacitance of the sensor system is determined by theconfiguration of its electrodes, one of which is a human body, that is,the passenger inside of and the part which controls the electrodeconfiguration and hence a sensor parameter, the capacitance.

The physics definition of “wave” from Webster's Encyclopedic UnabridgedDictionary is: “11. Physics. A progressive disturbance propagated frompoint to point in a medium or space without progress or advance of thepoints themselves, . . . ”. In a capacitor, the time that it takes forthe disturbance (a change in voltage) to propagate through space, thedielectric and to the opposite plate is generally small and neglectedbut it is not zero. As the frequency driving the capacitor increases andthe distance separating the plates increases, this transmission time asa percentage of the period of oscillation can become significant.Nevertheless, an observer between the plates will see the rise and fallof the electric field much like a person standing in the water of anocean. The presence of a dielectric body between the plates causes thewaves to get bigger as more electrons flow to and from the plates of thecapacitor. Thus, an occupant affects the magnitude of these waves whichis sensed by the capacitor circuit. Thus, the electromagnetic field is amaterial agent that carries information about a passenger's position inboth Kithil's and a beam-type electromagnetic wave sensor.

For ultrasonic systems, the “image” recorded from each ultrasonictransducer/receiver, is actually a time series of digitized data of theamplitude of the received signal versus time. Since there are tworeceivers, two time series are obtained which are processed by theprocessor 20. The processor 20 may include electronic circuitry andassociated, embedded software. Processor 20 constitutes one form ofgenerating means in accordance with the invention which generatesinformation about the occupancy of the passenger compartment based onthe waves received by the transducers 6, 8, 10.

When different objects are placed on the front passenger seat, theimages from transducers 6, 8, 10 for example, are different but thereare also similarities between all images of rear facing child seats, forexample, regardless of where on the vehicle seat it is placed andregardless of what company manufactured the child seat. Alternately,there will be similarities between all images of people sitting on theseat regardless of what they are wearing, their age or size. The problemis to find the “rules” which differentiate the images of one type ofobject from the images of other types of objects, e.g., whichdifferentiate the occupant images from the rear facing child seatimages. The similarities of these images for various child seats arefrequently not obvious to a person looking at plots of the time seriesand thus computer algorithms are developed to sort out the variouspatterns. For a more detailed discussion of pattern recognition see U.S.RE 37260 to Varga et al.

The determination of these rules is important to the pattern recognitiontechniques used in at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. Ingeneral, three approaches have been useful, artificial intelligence,fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks (including cellular andmodular or combination neural networks and support vectormachines—although additional types of pattern recognition techniques mayalso be used, such as sensor fusion). In some implementations of atleast one of the inventions disclosed herein, such as the determinationthat there is an object in the path of a closing window as describedbelow, the rules are sufficiently obvious that a trained researcher cansometimes look at the returned signals and devise a simple algorithm tomake the required determinations. In others, such as the determinationof the presence of a rear facing child seat or of an occupant,artificial neural networks can be used to determine the rules. One suchset of neural network software for determining the pattern recognitionrules is available from the International Scientific Research, Inc. ofPanama City, Panama.

Electromagnetic energy based occupant sensors exist that use manyportions of the electromagnetic spectrum. A system based on theultraviolet, visible or infrared portions of the spectrum generallyoperate with a transmitter and a receiver of reflected radiation. Thereceiver may be a camera or a photo detector such as a pin or avalanchediode as described in detail in above-referenced patents and patentapplications. At other frequencies, the absorption of theelectromagnetic energy is primarily used and at still other frequenciesthe capacitance or electric field influencing effects are used.Generally, the human body will reflect, scatter, absorb or transmitelectromagnetic energy in various degrees depending on the frequency ofthe electromagnetic waves. All such occupant sensors are includedherein.

In an embodiment wherein electromagnetic energy is used, it is to beappreciated that any portion of the electromagnetic signals thatimpinges upon, surrounds or involves a body portion of the occupant isat least partially absorbed by the body portion. Sometimes, this is dueto the fact that the human body is composed primarily of water, and thatelectromagnetic energy of certain frequencies is readily absorbed bywater. The amount of electromagnetic signal absorption is related to thefrequency of the signal, and size or bulk of the body portion that thesignal impinges upon. For example, a torso of a human body tends toabsorb a greater percentage of electromagnetic energy than a hand of ahuman body.

Thus, when electromagnetic waves or energy signals are transmitted by atransmitter, the returning waves received by a receiver provide anindication of the absorption of the electromagnetic energy. That is,absorption of electromagnetic energy will vary depending on the presenceor absence of a human occupant, the occupant's size, bulk, surfacereflectivity, etc. depending on the frequency, so that different signalswill be received relating to the degree or extent of absorption by theoccupying item on the seat. The receiver will produce a signalrepresentative of the returned waves or energy signals which will thusconstitute an absorption signal as it corresponds to the absorption ofelectromagnetic energy by the occupying item in the seat.

One or more of the transducers 6, 8, 10 can also be image-receivingdevices, such as cameras, which take images of the interior of thepassenger compartment. These images can be transmitted to a remotefacility to monitor the passenger compartment or can be stored in amemory device for use in the event of an accident, i.e., to determinethe status of the occupant(s) of the vehicle prior to the accident. Inthis manner, it can be ascertained whether the driver was fallingasleep, talking on the phone, etc.

A memory device for storing images of the passenger compartment, andalso for receiving and storing any other information, parameters andvariables relating to the vehicle or occupancy of the vehicle, may be inthe form a standardized “black box” (instead of or in addition to amemory part in a processor 20). The IEEE Standards Association iscurrently beginning to develop an international standard for motorvehicle event data recorders. The information stored in the black boxand/or memory unit in the processor 20, can include the images of theinterior of the passenger compartment as well as the number of occupantsand the health state of the occupant(s). The black box would preferablybe tamper-proof and crash-proof and enable retrieval of the informationafter a crash.

Transducer 8 can also be a source of electromagnetic radiation, such asan LED, and transducers 6 and 10 can be CMOS, CCD imagers or otherdevices sensitive to electromagnetic radiation or fields. This “image”or return signal will differ for each object that is placed on thevehicle seat, or elsewhere in the vehicle, and it will also change foreach position of a particular object and for each position of thevehicle seat or other movable objects within the vehicle. Elements 6, 8,10, although described as transducers, are representative of any type ofcomponent used in a wave-based or electric field analysis technique,including, e.g., a transmitter, receiver, antenna or a capacitor plate.

Transducers 12, 14 and 16 can be antennas placed in the seat andinstrument panel, or other convenient location within the vehicle, suchthat the presence of an object, particularly a water-containing objectsuch as a human, disturbs the near field of the antenna. Thisdisturbance can be detected by various means such as with Micrel partsMICREF102 and MICREF104, which have a built-in antenna auto-tunecircuit. Note, these parts cannot be used as is and it is necessary toredesign the chips to allow the auto-tune information to be retrievedfrom the chip.

Other types of transducers can be used along with the transducers 6, 8,10 or separately and all are contemplated by at least one of theinventions disclosed herein. Such transducers include other wave devicessuch as radar or electronic field sensing systems such as described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,366,241, U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,734, U.S. Pat. No.5,691,693, U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,479, U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,486, U.S. Pat.No. 6,014,602, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,275,146 to Kithil, and U.S. Pat. No.5,948,031 to Rittmueller. Another technology, for example, uses the factthat the content of the near field of an antenna affects the resonanttuning of the antenna. Examples of such a device are shown as antennas12, 14 and 16 in FIG. 1. By going to lower frequencies, the near fieldrange is increased and also at such lower frequencies, a ferrite-typeantenna could be used to minimize the size of the antenna. Otherantennas that may be applicable for a particular implementation includedipole, microstrip, patch, Yagi etc. The frequency transmitted by theantenna can be swept and the (VSWR) voltage and current in the antennafeed circuit can be measured. Classification by frequency domain is thenpossible. That is, if the circuit is tuned by the antenna, the frequencycan be measured to determine the object in the field.

An alternate system is shown in FIG. 2, which is a side view showingschematically the interface between the vehicle interior monitoringsystem of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein and thevehicle cellular or other communication system 32, such as a satellitebased system such as that supplied by Skybitz, having an associatedantenna 34. In this view, an adult occupant 30 is shown sitting on thefront passenger seat 4 and two transducers 6 and 8 are used to determinethe presence (or absence) of the occupant on that seat 4. One of thetransducers 8 in this case acts as both a transmitter and receiver whilethe other transducer 6 acts only as a receiver. Alternately, transducer6 could serve as both a transmitter and receiver or the transmittingfunction could be alternated between the two devices. Also, in manycases, more that two transmitters and receivers are used and in stillother cases, other types of sensors, such as weight, chemical,radiation, vibration, acoustic, seatbelt tension sensor or switch,heartbeat, self tuning antennas (12, 14), motion and seat and seatbackposition sensors, are also used alone or in combination with thetransducers 6 and 8. As is also the case in FIG. 1, the transducers 6and 8 are attached to the vehicle embedded in the A-pillar and headlinertrim, where their presence is disguised, and are connected to processor20 that may also be hidden in the trim as shown or elsewhere. Naturally,other mounting locations can also be used and, in most cases, preferredas disclosed in Varga et. al. (U.S. RE 37260).

The transducers 6 and 8 in conjunction with the pattern recognitionhardware and software described below enable the determination of thepresence of an occupant within a short time after the vehicle isstarted. The software is implemented in processor 20 and is packaged ona printed circuit board or flex circuit along with the transducers 6 and8. Similar systems can be located to monitor the remaining seats in thevehicle, also determine the presence of occupants at the other seatinglocations and this result is stored in the computer memory, which ispart of each monitoring system processor 20. Processor 20 thus enables acount of the number of occupants in the vehicle to be obtained byaddition of the determined presence of occupants by the transducersassociated with each seating location, and in fact, can be designed toperform such an addition. Naturally, the principles illustrated forautomobile vehicles are applicable by those skilled in the art to othervehicles such as shipping containers or truck trailers and to othercompartments of an automotive vehicle such as the vehicle trunk.

For a general object, transducers 6, 8, 9, 10 can also be used todetermine the type of object, determine the location of the object,and/or determine another property or characteristic of the object. Aproperty of the object could be the orientation of a child seat, thevelocity of an adult and the like. For example, the transducers 6, 8, 9,10 can be designed to enable a determination that an object is presenton the seat, that the object is a child seat and that the child seat isrear-facing.

The transducers 6 and 8 are attached to the vehicle buried in the trimsuch as the A-pillar trim, where their presence can be disguised, andare connected to processor 20 that may also be hidden in the trim asshown (this being a non-limiting position for the processor 20). TheA-pillar is the roof support pillar that is closest to the front of thevehicle and which, in addition to supporting the roof, also supports thefront windshield and the front door. Other mounting locations can alsobe used. For example, transducers 6, 8 can be mounted inside the seat(along with or in place of transducers 12 and 14), in the ceiling of thevehicle, in the B-pillar, in the C-pillar and in the doors. Indeed, thevehicle interior monitoring system in accordance with the invention maycomprise a plurality of monitoring units, each arranged to monitor aparticular seating location. In this case, for the rear seatinglocations, transducers might be mounted in the B-pillar or C-pillar orin the rear of the front seat or in the rear side doors. Possiblemounting locations for transducers, transmitters, receivers and otheroccupant sensing devices are disclosed in the above-referenced patentapplications and all of these mounting locations are contemplated foruse with the transducers described herein.

The cellular phone or other communications system 32 outputs to anantenna 34. The transducers 6, 8, 12 and 14 in conjunction with thepattern recognition hardware and software, which is implemented inprocessor 20 and is packaged on a printed circuit board or flex circuitalong with the transducers 6 and 8, determine the presence of anoccupant within a few seconds after the vehicle is started, or within afew seconds after the door is closed. Similar systems located to monitorthe remaining seats in the vehicle, also determine the presence ofoccupants at the other seating locations and this result is stored inthe computer memory which is part of each monitoring system processor20.

Periodically and in particular in the event of an accident, theelectronic system associated with the cellular phone system 32interrogates the various interior monitoring system memories and arrivesat a count of the number of occupants in the vehicle, and optionally,even makes a determination as to whether each occupant was wearing aseatbelt and if he or she is moving after the accident. The phone orother communications system then automatically dials the EMS operator(such as 911 or through a telematics service such as OnStar®) and theinformation obtained from the interior monitoring systems is forwardedso that a determination can be made as to the number of ambulances andother equipment to send to the accident site, for example. Such vehicleswill also have a system, such as the global positioning system, whichpermits the vehicle to determine its exact location and to forward thisinformation to the EMS operator. Other systems can be implemented inconjunction with the communication with the emergency services operator.For example, a microphone and speaker can be activated to permit theoperator to attempt to communicate with the vehicle occupant(s) andthereby learn directly of the status and seriousness of the condition ofthe occupant(s) after the accident.

Thus, in basic embodiments of the invention, wave or otherenergy-receiving transducers are arranged in the vehicle at appropriatelocations, trained if necessary depending on the particular embodiment,and function to determine whether a life form is present in the vehicleand if so, how many life forms are present and where they are locatedetc. To this end, transducers can be arranged to be operative at only asingle seating location or at multiple seating locations with aprovision being made to eliminate a repetitive count of occupants. Adetermination can also be made using the transducers as to whether thelife forms are humans, or more specifically, adults, child in childseats, etc. As noted herein, this is possible using pattern recognitiontechniques. Moreover, the processor or processors associated with thetransducers can be trained to determine the location of the life forms,either periodically or continuously or possibly only immediately before,during and after a crash. The location of the life forms can be asgeneral or as specific as necessary depending on the systemrequirements, i.e., a determination can be made that a human is situatedon the driver's seat in a normal position (general) or a determinationcan be made that a human is situated on the driver's seat and is leaningforward and/or to the side at a specific angle as well as the positionof his or her extremities and head and chest (specifically). The degreeof detail is limited by several factors, including, for example, thenumber and position of transducers and training of the patternrecognition algorithm(s).

In addition to the use of transducers to determine the presence andlocation of occupants in a vehicle, other sensors could also be used.For example, a heartbeat sensor which determines the number and presenceof heartbeat signals can also be arranged in the vehicle, which wouldthus also determine the number of occupants as the number of occupantswould be equal to the number of heartbeat signals detected. Conventionalheartbeat sensors can be adapted to differentiate between a heartbeat ofan adult, a heartbeat of a child and a heartbeat of an animal. As itsname implies, a heartbeat sensor detects a heartbeat, and the magnitudeand/or frequency thereof, of a human occupant of the seat, if such ahuman occupant is present. The output of the heartbeat sensor is inputto the processor of the interior monitoring system. One heartbeat sensorfor use in the invention may be of the types as disclosed in McEwan(U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,012 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,208). The heartbeatsensor can be positioned at any convenient position relative to theseats where occupancy is being monitored. A preferred location is withinthe vehicle seatback.

An alternative way to determine the number of occupants is to monitorthe weight being applied to the seats, i.e., each seating location, byarranging weight sensors at each seating location which might also beable to provide a weight distribution of an object on the seat. Analysisof the weight and/or weight distribution by a predetermined method canprovide an indication of occupancy by a human, an adult or child, or aninanimate object.

Another type of sensor which is not believed to have been used in aninterior monitoring system previously is a micropower impulse radar(MIR) sensor which determines motion of an occupant and thus candetermine his or her heartbeat (as evidenced by motion of the chest).Such an MIR sensor can be arranged to detect motion in a particular areain which the occupant's chest would most likely be situated or could becoupled to an arrangement which determines the location of theoccupant's chest and then adjusts the operational field of the MIRsensor based on the determined location of the occupant's chest. Amotion sensor utilizing a micro-power impulse radar (MIR) system asdisclosed, for example, in McEwan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,070), as well asmany other patents by the same inventor.

Motion sensing is accomplished by monitoring a particular range from thesensor as disclosed in that patent. MIR is one form of radar which hasapplicability to occupant sensing and can be mounted at variouslocations in the vehicle. It has an advantage over ultrasonic sensors inthat data can be acquired at a higher speed and thus the motion of anoccupant can be more easily tracked. The ability to obtain returns overthe entire occupancy range is somewhat more difficult than withultrasound resulting in a more expensive system overall. MIR hasadditional advantages in lack of sensitivity to temperature variationand has a comparable resolution to about 40 kHz ultrasound. Resolutioncomparable to higher frequency ultrasound is also possible.Additionally, multiple MIR sensors can be used when high speed trackingof the motion of an occupant during a crash is required since they canbe individually pulsed without interfering with each through timedivision multiplexing.

An alternative way to determine motion of the occupant(s) is to monitorthe weight distribution of the occupant whereby changes in weightdistribution after an accident would be highly suggestive of movement ofthe occupant. A system for determining the weight distribution of theoccupants could be integrated or otherwise arranged in the seats such asthe front seat 4 of the vehicle and several patents and publicationsdescribe such systems.

More generally, any sensor which determines the presence and healthstate of an occupant can also be integrated into the vehicle interiormonitoring system in accordance with the invention. For example, asensitive motion sensor can determine whether an occupant is breathingand a chemical sensor can determine the amount of carbon dioxide, or theconcentration of carbon dioxide, in the air in the passenger compartmentof the vehicle which can be correlated to the health state of theoccupant(s). The motion sensor and chemical sensor can be designed tohave a fixed operational field situated where the occupant's mouth ismost likely to be located. In this manner, detection of carbon dioxidein the fixed operational field could be used as an indication of thepresence of a human occupant in order to enable the determination of thenumber of occupants in the vehicle. In the alternative, the motionsensor and chemical sensor can be adjustable and adapted to adjust theiroperational field in conjunction with a determination by an occupantposition and location sensor which would determine the location ofspecific parts of the occupant's body, e.g., his or her chest or mouth.Furthermore, an occupant position and location sensor can be used todetermine the location of the occupant's eyes and determine whether theoccupant is conscious, i.e., whether his or her eyes are open or closedor moving.

The use of chemical sensors can also be used to detect whether there isblood present in the vehicle, for example, after an accident.Additionally, microphones can detect whether there is noise in thevehicle caused by groaning, yelling, etc., and transmit any such noisethrough the cellular or other communication connection to a remotelistening facility (such as operated by OnStar®).

In FIG. 3, a view of the system of FIG. 1 is illustrated with a box 28shown on the front passenger seat in place of a rear facing child seat.The vehicle interior monitoring system is trained to recognize that thisbox 28 is neither a rear facing child seat nor an occupant and thereforeit is treated as an empty seat and the deployment of the airbag or otheroccupant restraint device is suppressed. For other vehicles, it may bethat just the presence of a box or its motion or chemical or radiationeffluents that are desired to be monitored. The auto-tune antenna-basedsystem 12, 14 is particularly adept at making this distinctionparticularly if the box 28 does not contain substantial amounts ofwater. Although a simple implementation of the auto-tune antenna systemis illustrated, it is of course possible to use multiple antennaslocated in the seat 4 and elsewhere in the passenger compartment andthese antenna systems can either operate at one or a multiple ofdifferent frequencies to discriminate type, location and/or relativesize of the object being investigated. This training can be accomplishedusing a neural network or modular neural network with the commerciallyavailable software. The system assesses the probability that the box 28is a person, however, and if there is even the remotest chance that itis a person, the airbag deployment is not suppressed. The system is thustypically biased toward enabling airbag deployment.

In cases where different levels of airbag inflation are possible, andthere are different levels of injury associated with an out of positionoccupant being subjected to varying levels of airbag deployment, it issometimes possible to permit a depowered or low level airbag deploymentin cases of uncertainty. If, for example, the neural network has aproblem distinguishing whether a box or a forward facing child seat ispresent on the vehicle seat, the decision can be made to deploy theairbag in a depowered or low level deployment state. Other situationswhere such a decision could be made would be when there is confusion asto whether a forward facing human is in position or out-of-position.

Neural networks systems frequently have problems in accuratelydiscriminating the exact location of an occupant especially whendifferent-sized occupants are considered. This results in a gray zonearound the border of the keep out zone where the system provides a weakfire or weak no fire decision. For those cases, deployment of the airbagin a depowered state can resolve the situation since an occupant in agray zone around the keep out zone boundary would be unlikely to beinjured by such a depowered deployment while significant airbagprotection is still being supplied.

Electromagnetic or ultrasonic energy can be transmitted in three modesin determining the position of an occupant, for example. In most of thecases disclosed above, it is assumed that the energy will be transmittedin a broad diverging beam which interacts with a substantial portion ofthe occupant or other object to be monitored. This method can have thedisadvantage that it will reflect first off the nearest object and,especially if that object is close to the transmitter, it may mask thetrue position of the occupant or object. It can also reflect off manyparts of the object where the reflections can be separated in time andprocessed as in an ultrasonic occupant sensing system. This can also bepartially overcome through the use of the second mode which uses anarrow beam. In this case, several narrow beams are used. These beamsare aimed in different directions toward the occupant from a positionsufficiently away from the occupant or object such that interference isunlikely.

A single receptor could be used provided the beams are either cycled onat different times or are of different frequencies. Another approach isto use a single beam emanating from a location which has an unimpededview of the occupant or object such as the windshield header in the caseof an automobile or near the roof at one end of a trailer or shippingcontainer, for example. If two spaced apart CCD array receivers areused, the angle of the reflected beam can be determined and the locationof the occupant can be calculated. The third mode is to use a singlebeam in a manner so that it scans back and forth and/or up and down, orin some other pattern, across the occupant, object or the space ingeneral. In this manner, an image of the occupant or object can beobtained using a single receptor and pattern recognition software can beused to locate the head or chest of the occupant or size of the object,for example. The beam approach is most applicable to electromagneticenergy but high frequency ultrasound can also be formed into a narrowbeam.

A similar effect to modifying the wave transmission mode can also beobtained by varying the characteristics of the receptors. Throughappropriate lenses or reflectors, receptors can be made to be mostsensitive to radiation emitted from a particular direction. In thismanner, a single broad beam transmitter can be used coupled with anarray of focused receivers, or a scanning receiver, to obtain a roughimage of the occupant or occupying object.

Each of these methods of transmission or reception could be used, forexample, at any of the preferred mounting locations shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 7, there are provided four sets of wave-receivingsensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 mounted within the passenger compartment ofan automotive vehicle. Each set of sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 comprisesa transmitter and a receiver (or just a receiver in some cases), whichmay be integrated into a single unit or individual components separatedfrom one another. In this embodiment, the sensor system 6 is mounted onthe A-Pillar of the vehicle. The sensor system 9 is mounted on the upperportion of the B-Pillar. The sensor system 8 is mounted on the roofceiling portion or the headliner. The sensor system 10 is mounted nearthe middle of an instrument panel 17 in front of the driver's seat 3.

The sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 are preferably ultrasonic orelectromagnetic, although sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 can be any othertype of sensors which will detect the presence of an occupant from adistance including capacitive or electric field sensors. Also, if thesensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 are passive infrared sensors, for example,then they may only comprise a wave-receiver. Recent advances in QuantumWell Infrared Photodetectors by NASA show great promise for thisapplication. See “Many Applications Possible For Largest QuantumInfrared Detector”, Goddard Space Center News Release Feb. 27, 2002.

The Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector is a new detector which promisesto be a low-cost alternative to conventional infrared detectortechnology for a wide range of scientific and commercial applications,and particularly for sensing inside and outside of a vehicle. The mainproblem that needs to be solved is that it operates at 76 degrees Kelvin(−323 degrees F.). Chips are being developed capable of cooling otherchips economically. It remains to be seen if these low temperatures canbe economically achieved.

A section of the passenger compartment of an automobile is showngenerally as 40 in FIGS. 8A-8D. A driver 30 of the vehicle sits on aseat 3 behind a steering wheel 42, which contains an airbag assembly 44.Airbag assembly 44 may be integrated into the steering wheel assembly orcoupled to the steering wheel 42. Five transmitter and/or receiverassemblies 49, 50, 51, 52 and 54 are positioned at various places in thepassenger compartment to determine the location of various parts of thedriver, e.g., the head, chest and torso, relative to the airbag and tootherwise monitor the interior of the passenger compartment. Monitoringof the interior of the passenger compartment can entail detecting thepresence or absence of the driver and passengers, differentiatingbetween animate and inanimate objects, detecting the presence ofoccupied or unoccupied child seats, rear-facing or forward-facing, andidentifying and ascertaining the identity of the occupying items in thepassenger compartment. Naturally, a similar system can be used formonitoring the interior of a truck, shipping container or othercontainers.

A processor such as control circuitry 20 is connected to thetransmitter/receiver assemblies 49, 50, 51, 52, 54 and controls thetransmission from the transmitters, if a transmission component ispresent in the assemblies, and captures the return signals from thereceivers, if a receiver component is present in the assemblies. Controlcircuitry 20 usually contains analog to digital converters (ADCs) or aframe grabber or equivalent, a microprocessor containing sufficientmemory and appropriate software including, for example, patternrecognition algorithms, and other appropriate drivers, signalconditioners, signal generators, etc. Usually, in any givenimplementation, only three or four of the transmitter/receiverassemblies would be used depending on their mounting locations asdescribed below. In some special cases, such as for a simpleclassification system, only a single or sometimes only twotransmitter/receiver assemblies are used.

A portion of the connection between the transmitter/receiver assemblies49, 50, 51, 52, 54 and the control circuitry 20, is shown as wires.These connections can be wires, either individual wires leading from thecontrol circuitry 20 to each of the transmitter/receiver assemblies 49,50, 51, 52, 54 or one or more wire buses or in some cases, wireless datatransmission can be used.

The location of the control circuitry 20 in the dashboard of the vehicleis for illustration purposes only and does not limit the location of thecontrol circuitry 20. Rather, the control circuitry 20 may be locatedanywhere convenient or desired in the vehicle.

It is contemplated that a system and method in accordance with theinvention can include a single transmitter and multiple receivers, eachat a different location. Thus, each receiver would not be associatedwith a transmitter forming transmitter/receiver assemblies. Rather, forexample, with reference to FIG. 8A, only element 51 could constitute atransmitter/receiver assembly and elements 49, 50, 52 and 54 could bereceivers only.

On the other hand, it is conceivable that in some implementations, asystem and method in accordance with the invention include a singlereceiver and multiple transmitters. Thus, each transmitter would not beassociated with a receiver forming transmitter/receiver assemblies.Rather, for example, with reference to FIG. 8A, only element 51 wouldconstitute a transmitter/receiver assembly and elements 49, 50, 52, 54would be transmitters only.

One ultrasonic transmitter/receiver as used herein is similar to thatused on modern auto-focus cameras such as manufactured by the PolaroidCorporation. Other camera auto-focusing systems use differenttechnologies, which are also applicable here, to achieve the samedistance to object determination. One camera system manufactured by Fujiof Japan, for example, uses a stereoscopic system which could also beused to determine the position of a vehicle occupant providing there issufficient light available. In the case of insufficient light, a sourceof infrared light can be added to illuminate the driver. In a relatedimplementation, a source of infrared light is reflected off of thewindshield and illuminates the vehicle occupant. An infrared receiver 56is located attached to the rear view mirror assembly 55, as shown inFIG. 8E. Alternately, the infrared can be sent by the device 50 andreceived by a receiver elsewhere. Since any of the devices shown inthese figures could be either transmitters or receivers or both, forsimplicity, only the transmitted and not the reflected wave fronts arefrequently illustrated.

When using the surface of the windshield as a reflector of infraredradiation (for transmitter/receiver assembly and element 52), care mustbe taken to assure that the desired reflectivity at the frequency ofinterest is achieved. Mirror materials, such as metals and other specialmaterials manufactured by Eastman Kodak, have a reflectivity forinfrared frequencies that is substantially higher than at visiblefrequencies. They are thus candidates for coatings to be placed on thewindshield surfaces for this purpose.

There are two preferred methods of implementing the vehicle interiormonitoring system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein, amicroprocessor system and an application specific integrated circuitsystem (ASIC). Both of these systems are represented schematically as 20herein. In some systems, both a microprocessor and an ASIC are used. Inother systems, most if not all of the circuitry is combined onto asingle chip (system on a chip). The particular implementation depends onthe quantity to be made and economic considerations.

1.1 Ultrasonics

1.1.1 General

The maximum acoustic frequency that is practical to use for acousticimaging in the systems is about 40 to 160 kilohertz (kHz). Thewavelength of a 50 kHz acoustic wave is about 0.6 cm which is too coarseto determine the fine features of a person's face, for example. It iswell understood by those skilled in the art that features which are muchsmaller than the wavelength of the irradiating radiation cannot bedistinguished. Similarly, the wavelength of common radar systems variesfrom about 0.9 cm (for 33 GHz K band) to 133 cm (for 225 MHz P band)which are also too coarse for person-identification systems.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a section of the passenger compartment of anautomobile is shown generally as 40 in FIG. 5. A driver of a vehicle 30sits on a seat 3 behind a steering wheel 42 which contains an airbagassembly 44. Four transmitter and/or receiver assemblies 50, 52, 53 and54 are positioned at various places in or around the passengercompartment to determine the location of the head, chest and torso ofthe driver 30 relative to the airbag assembly 44. Usually, in any givenimplementation, only one or two of the transmitters and receivers wouldbe used depending on their mounting locations as described below.

FIG. 5 illustrates several of the possible locations of such devices.For example, transmitter and receiver 50 emits ultrasonic acousticalwaves which bounce off the chest of the driver 30 and return.Periodically, a burst of ultrasonic waves at about 50 kilohertz isemitted by the transmitter/receiver and then the echo, or reflectedsignal, is detected by the same or different device. An associatedelectronic circuit measures the time between the transmission and thereception of the ultrasonic waves and determines the distance from thetransmitter/receiver to the driver 30 based on the velocity of sound.This information can then be sent to a microprocessor that can belocated in the crash sensor and diagnostic circuitry which determines ifthe driver 30 is close enough to the airbag assembly 44 that adeployment might, by itself, cause injury to the driver 30. In such acase, the circuit disables the airbag system and thereby prevents itsdeployment. In an alternate case, the sensor algorithm assesses theprobability that a crash requiring an airbag is in process and waitsuntil that probability exceeds an amount that is dependent on theposition of the driver 30. Thus, for example, the sensor might decide todeploy the airbag based on a need probability assessment of 50%, if thedecision must be made immediately for a driver 30 approaching theairbag, but might wait until the probability rises to 95% for a moredistant driver. Although a driver system has been illustrated, thepassenger system would be similar.

Alternate mountings for the transmitter/receiver include variouslocations on the instrument panel on either side of the steering columnsuch as 53 in FIG. 5. Also, although some of the devices hereinillustrated assume that for the ultrasonic system, the same device isused for both transmitting and receiving waves, there are advantages inseparating these functions, at least for standard transducer systems.Since there is a time lag required for the system to stabilize aftertransmitting a pulse before it can receive a pulse, close measurementsare enhanced, for example, by using separate transmitters and receivers.In addition, if the ultrasonic transmitter and receiver are separated,the transmitter can transmit continuously, provided the transmittedsignal is modulated such that the received signal can be compared withthe transmitted signal to determine the time it takes for the waves toreach and reflect off of the occupant.

Many methods exist for this modulation including varying the frequencyor amplitude of the waves or pulse modulation or coding. In all cases,the logic circuit which controls the sensor and receiver must be able todetermine when the signal which was most recently received wastransmitted. In this manner, even though the time that it takes for thesignal to travel from the transmitter to the receiver, via reflectionoff of the occupant or other object to be monitored, may be severalmilliseconds, information as to the position of the occupant is receivedcontinuously which permits an accurate, although delayed, determinationof the occupant's velocity from successive position measurements. Othermodulation methods that may be applied to electromagnetic radiationsinclude TDMA, CDMA, noise or pseudo-noise, spatial, etc.

Conventional ultrasonic distance measuring devices must wait for thesignal to travel to the occupant or other monitored object and returnbefore a new signal is sent. This greatly limits the frequency at whichposition data can be obtained to the formula where the frequency isequal to the velocity of sound divided by two times the distance to theoccupant. For example, if the velocity of sound is taken at about 1000feet per second, occupant position data for an occupant or objectlocated one foot from the transmitter can only be obtained every 2milliseconds which corresponds to a frequency of about 500 Hz. At athree-foot displacement and allowing for some processing time, thefrequency is closer to about 100 Hz.

This slow frequency that data can be collected seriously degrades theaccuracy of the velocity calculation. The reflection of ultrasonic wavesfrom the clothes of an occupant or the existence of thermal gradients,for example, can cause noise or scatter in the position measurement andlead to significant inaccuracies in a given measurement. When manymeasurements are taken more rapidly, as in the technique described here,these inaccuracies can be averaged and a significant improvement in theaccuracy of the velocity calculation results.

The determination of the velocity of the occupant need not be derivedfrom successive distance measurements. A potentially more accuratemethod is to make use of the Doppler Effect where the frequency of thereflected waves differs from the transmitted waves by an amount which isproportional to the occupant's velocity. In one embodiment, a singleultrasonic transmitter and a separate receiver are used to measure theposition of the occupant, by the travel time of a known signal, and thevelocity, by the frequency shift of that signal. Although the DopplerEffect has been used to determine whether an occupant has fallen asleep,it has not previously been used in conjunction with a position measuringdevice to determine whether an occupant is likely to become out ofposition, i.e., an extrapolated position in the future based on theoccupant's current position and velocity as determined from successiveposition measurements, and thus in danger of being injured by adeploying airbag, or that a monitored object is moving. This combinationis particularly advantageous since both measurements can be accuratelyand efficiently determined using a single transmitter and receiver pairresulting in a low cost system.

One problem with Doppler measurements is the slight change in frequencythat occurs during normal occupant velocities. This requires thatsophisticated electronic techniques and a low Q receiver should beutilized to increase the frequency and thereby render it easier tomeasure the velocity using the phase shift. For many implementations,therefore, the velocity of the occupant is determined by calculating thedifference between successive position measurements.

The following discussion will apply to the case where ultrasonic sensorsare used although a similar discussion can be presented relative to theuse of electromagnetic sensors such as active infrared sensors, takinginto account the differences in the technologies. Also, the followingdiscussion will relate to an embodiment wherein the seat is the frontpassenger seat, although a similar discussion can apply to othervehicles and monitoring situations.

The ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor systems, 6, 8, 9 and 10 in FIG.7 can be controlled or driven, one at a time or simultaneously, by anappropriate driver circuit such as ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensordriver circuit 58 shown in FIG. 9. The transmitters of the ultrasonic orelectromagnetic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10 transmit respectiveultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward the seat 4 and transmitpulses (see FIG. 10(c)) in sequence at times t1, t2, t3 and t4(t4>t3>t2>t1) or simultaneously (t1=t2=t3=t4). The reflected waves ofthe ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves are received by the receiversChA-ChD of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors 6, 8, 9 and 10. Thereceiver ChA is associated with the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensorsystem 8, the receiver ChB is associated with the ultrasonic orelectromagnetic sensor system 5, the receiver ChD is associated with theultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 6, and the receiver ChD isassociated with the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 9.

FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) show examples of the reflected ultrasonic wavesUSRW that are received by receivers ChA-ChD. FIG. 10(a) shows an exampleof the reflected wave USRW that is obtained when an adult sits in anormally seated space on the passenger seat 4, while FIG. 10(b) shows anexample of the reflected wave USRW that are obtained when an adult sitsin a slouching state (one of the abnormal seated-states) in thepassenger seat 4.

In the case of a normally seated passenger, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,the location of the ultrasonic sensor system 6 is closest to thepassenger A. Therefore, the reflected wave pulse P1 is received earliestafter transmission by the receiver ChD as shown in FIG. 10(a), and thewidth of the reflected wave pulse P1 is larger. Next, the distance fromthe ultrasonic sensor 8 is closer to the passenger A, so a reflectedwave pulse P2 is received earlier by the receiver ChA compared with theremaining reflected wave pulses P3 and P4. Since the reflected wavepauses P3 and P4 take more time than the reflected wave pulses P1 and P2to arrive at the receivers ChC and ChB, the reflected wave pulses P3 andP4 are received as the timings shown in FIG. 10(a). More specifically,since it is believed that the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system6 to the passenger A is slightly shorter than the distance from theultrasonic sensor system 10 to the passenger A, the reflected wave pulseP3 is received slightly earlier by the receiver ChC than the reflectedwave pulse P4 is received by the receiver ChB.

In the case where the passenger A is sitting in a slouching state in thepassenger seat 4, the distance between the ultrasonic sensor system 6and the passenger A is shortest. Therefore, the time from transmissionat time t3 to reception is shortest, and the reflected wave pulse P3 isreceived by the receiver ChC, as shown in FIG. 10(b). Next, thedistances between the ultrasonic sensor system 10 and the passenger Abecomes shorter, so the reflected wave pulse P4 is received earlier bythe receiver ChB than the remaining reflected wave pulses P2 and P1.When the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 8 to the passenger Ais compared with that from the ultrasonic sensor system 9 to thepassenger A, the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 8 to thepassenger A becomes shorter, so the reflected wave pulse P2 is receivedby the receiver ChA first and the reflected wave pulse P1 is thusreceived last by the receiver ChD.

The configurations of the reflected wave pulses P1-P4, the times thatthe reflected wave pulses P1-P4 are received, the sizes of the reflectedwave pulses P1-P4 are varied depending upon the configuration andposition of an object such as a passenger situated on the frontpassenger seat 4. FIGS. 10(a) and (b) merely show examples for thepurpose of description and therefore the present invention is notlimited to these examples.

The outputs of the receivers ChA-ChD, as shown in FIG. 9, are input to aband pass filter 60 through a multiplex circuit 59 which is switched insynchronization with a timing signal from the ultrasonic sensor drivecircuit 58. The band pass filter 60 removes a low frequency wavecomponent from the output signal based on each of the reflected waveUSRW and also removes some of the noise. The output signal based on eachof the reflected wave USRW is passed through the band pass filter 60,then is amplified by an amplifier 61. The amplifier 61 also removes thehigh frequency carrier wave component in each of the reflected wavesUSRW and generates an envelope wave signal. This envelope wave signal isinput to an analog/digital converter (ADC) 62 and digitized as measureddata. The measured data is input to a processing circuit 63, which iscontrolled by the timing signal which is in turn output from theultrasonic sensor drive circuit 58.

The processing circuit 63 collects measured data at intervals of 7 ms(or at another time interval with the time interval also being referredto as a time window or time period), and 47 data points are generatedfor each of the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10. For each ofthese reflected waves USRW, the initial reflected wave portion T1 andthe last reflected wave portion T2 are cut off or removed in each timewindow. The reason for this will be described when the trainingprocedure of a neural network is described later, and the description isomitted for now. With this, 32, 31, 37 and 38 data points will besampled by the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10, respectively.The reason why the number of data points differs for each of theultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10 is that the distance from thepassenger seat 4 to the ultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9 and 10 differfrom one another.

Each of the measured data is input to a normalization circuit 64 andnormalized. The normalized measured data is input to the neural network65 as wave data.

A comprehensive occupant sensing system will now be discussed whichinvolves a variety of different sensors, again this is for illustrationpurposes only and a similar description can be constructed for othervehicles including shipping container and truck trailer monitoring. Manyof these sensors will be discussed in more detail under the appropriatesections below. FIG. 6 shows a passenger seat 70 to which an adjustmentapparatus including a seated-state detecting unit according to thepresent invention may be applied. The seat 70 includes a horizontallysituated bottom seat portion 4 and a vertically oriented back portion72. The seat portion 4 is provided with one or more pressure or weightsensors 7, 76 that determine the weight of the object occupying the seator the pressure applied by the object to the seat. The coupled portionbetween the seated portion 4 and the back portion 72 is provided with areclining angle detecting sensor 57, which detects the tilted angle ofthe back portion 72 relative to the seat portion 4. The seat portion 4is provided with a seat track position-detecting sensor 74. The seattrack position detecting sensor 74 detects the quantity of movement ofthe seat portion 4 which is moved from a back reference position,indicated by the dotted chain line. Optionally embedded within the backportion 72 are a heartbeat sensor 71 and a motion sensor 73. Attached tothe headliner is a capacitance sensor 78. The seat 70 may be the driverseat, the front passenger seat or any other seat in a motor vehicle aswell as other seats in transportation vehicles or seats innon-transportation applications.

Pressure or weight measuring means such as the sensors 7 and 76 areassociated with the seat, e.g., mounted into or below the seat portion 4or on the seat structure, for measuring the pressure or weight appliedonto the seat. The pressure or weight may be zero if no occupying itemis present and the sensors are calibrated to only measure incrementalweight or pressure. Sensors 7 and 76 may represent a plurality ofdifferent sensors which measure the pressure or weight applied onto theseat at different portions thereof or for redundancy purposes, e.g.,such as by means of an airbag or fluid filled bladder 75 in the seatportion 4. Airbag or bladder 75 may contain a single or a plurality ofchambers, each of which may be associated with a sensor (transducer) 76for measuring the pressure in the chamber. Such sensors may be in theform of strain, force or pressure sensors which measure the force orpressure on the seat portion 4 or seat back 72, a part of the seatportion 4 or seat back 72, displacement measuring sensors which measurethe displacement of the seat surface or the entire seat 70 such asthrough the use of strain gages mounted on the seat structural members,such as 7, or other appropriate locations, or systems which convertdisplacement into a pressure wherein one or more pressure sensors can beused as a measure of weight and/or weight distribution. Sensors 7, 76may be of the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701 and belowherein. Although pressure or weight here is disclosed and illustratedwith regard to measuring the pressure applied by or weight of an objectoccupying a seat in an automobile or truck, the same principles can beused to measure the pressure applied by and weight of objects occupyingother vehicles including truck trailers and shipping containers. Forexample, a series of fluid filled bladders under a segmented floor couldbe used to measure the weight and weight distribution in a trucktrailer.

Many practical problems have arisen during the development stages ofbladder and strain gage based weight systems. Some of these problemsrelate to bladder sensors and in particular to gas-filled bladdersensors and are effectively dealt with in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,696, U.S.Pat. No. 5,927,427, U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,491, U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,585,U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,349, U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,863, U.S. Pat. No.6,056,079, U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,853, U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,879 and U.S.Pat. No. 6,286,861. Other problems relate to seatbelt usage and tounanticipated stresses and strains that occur in seat mountingstructures and will be discussed below.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the output of the pressure or weight sensor(s)7 and 76 is amplified by an amplifier 66 coupled to the pressure orweight sensor(s) 7,76 and the amplified output is input to theanalog/digital converter 67.

A heartbeat sensor 71 is arranged to detect a heartbeat, and themagnitude thereof, of a human occupant of the seat, if such a humanoccupant is present. The output of the heartbeat sensor 71 is input tothe neural network 65. The heartbeat sensor 71 may be of the type asdisclosed in McEwan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,012 and U.S. Pat. No.5,766,208). The heartbeat sensor 71 can be positioned at any convenientposition relative to the seat 4 where occupancy is being monitored. Apreferred location is within the vehicle seatback. The heartbeat of astowaway in a cargo container or truck trailer can similarly be measuredbe a sensor on the vehicle floor or other appropriate location thatmeasures vibrations.

The reclining angle detecting sensor 57 and the seat trackposition-detecting sensor 74, which each may comprise a variableresistor, can be connected to constant-current circuits, respectively. Aconstant-current is supplied from the constant-current circuit to thereclining angle detecting sensor 57, and the reclining angle detectingsensor 57 converts a change in the resistance value on the tilt of theback portion 72 to a specific voltage. This output voltage is input toan analog/digital converter 68 as angle data, i.e., representative ofthe angle between the back portion 72 and the seat portion 4. Similarly,a constant current can be supplied from the constant-current circuit tothe seat track position-detecting sensor 74 and the seat track positiondetecting sensor 74 converts a change in the resistance value based onthe track position of the seat portion 4 to a specific voltage. Thisoutput voltage is input to an analog/digital converter 69 as seat trackdata. Thus, the outputs of the reclining angle-detecting sensor 57 andthe seat track position-detecting sensor 74 are input to theanalog/digital converters 68 and 69, respectively. Each digital datavalue from the ADCs 68, 69 is input to the neural network 65. Althoughthe digitized data of the pressure or weight sensor(s) 7, 76 is input tothe neural network 65, the output of the amplifier 66 is also input to acomparison circuit. The comparison circuit, which is incorporated in thegate circuit algorithm, determines whether or not the weight of anobject on the passenger seat 70 is more than a predetermined weight,such as 60 lbs., for example. When the weight is more than 60 lbs., thecomparison circuit outputs a logic 1 to the gate circuit to be describedlater. When the weight of the object is less than 60 lbs., a logic 0 isoutput to the gate circuit. A more detailed description of this andsimilar systems can be found in the above-referenced patents and patentapplications assigned to the current assignee and in the descriptionbelow. The system described above is one example of many systems thatcan be designed using the teachings of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein for detecting the occupancy state of the seat of avehicle.

As diagrammed in FIG. 12, the first step is to mount the four sets ofultrasonic sensor systems 11-14, the weight sensors 7, 76, the recliningangle detecting sensor 57, and the seat track position detecting sensor74, for example, into a vehicle (step S1). For other vehicle monitoringtasks different sets of sensors could be used. Next, in order to providedata for the neural network 65 to learn the patterns of seated states,data is recorded for patterns of all possible seated or occupancy statesand a list is maintained recording the seated or occupancy states forwhich data was acquired. The data from the sensors/transducers 6, 8, 9,10, 57, 71, 73, 74, 76 and 78 for a particular occupancy of thepassenger seat, for example, is called a vector (step S2). It should bepointed out that the use of the reclining angle detecting sensor 57,seat track position detecting sensor 74, heartbeat sensor 71, capacitivesensor 78 and motion sensor 73 is not essential to the detectingapparatus and method in accordance with the invention. However, each ofthese sensors, in combination with any one or more of the other sensorsenhances the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat or the occupancyof the vehicle.

Next, based on the training data from the reflected waves of theultrasonic sensor systems 6, 8, 9, 10 and the other sensors 7, 71, 73,76, 78 the vector data is collected (step S3). Next, the reflected wavesP1-P4 are modified by removing the initial reflected waves from eachtime window with a short reflection time from an object (range gating)(period T1 in FIG. 1I) and the last portion of the reflected waves fromeach time window with a long reflection time from an object (period P2in FIG. 11) (step S4). It is believed that the reflected waves with ashort reflection time from an object is due to cross-talk, that is,waves from the transmitters which leak into each of their associatedreceivers ChA-ChD. It is also believed that the reflected waves with along reflection time are reflected waves from an object far away fromthe passenger seat or from multipath reflections. If these two reflectedwave portions are used as data, they will add noise to the trainingprocess. Therefore, these reflected wave portions are eliminated fromthe data.

Recent advances in ultrasonic transducer design have now permitted theuse of a single transducer acting as both a sender (transmitter) andreceiver. These same advances have substantially reduced the ringing ofthe transducer after the excitation pulse has been caused to die out towhere targets as close as about 2 inches from the transducer can besensed. Thus, the magnitude of the T1 time period has been substantiallyreduced.

As shown in FIG. 13 a, the measured data is normalized by making thepeaks of the reflected wave pulses P1-P4 equal (step S5 of FIG. 12).This eliminates the effects of different reflectivities of differentobjects and people depending on the characteristics of their surfacessuch as their clothing. Data from the weight sensor, seat track positionsensor and seat reclining angle sensor is also frequently normalizedbased typically on fixed normalization parameters. When other sensorsare used for other types of monitoring, similar techniques are used.

The data from the ultrasonic transducers are now also preferably fedthrough a logarithmic compression circuit that substantially reduces themagnitude of reflected signals from high reflectivity targets comparedto those of low reflectivity. Additionally, a time gain circuit is usedto compensate for the difference in sonic strength received by thetransducer based on the distance of the reflecting object from thetransducer.

As various parts of the vehicle interior identification and monitoringsystem described in the above reference patents and patent applicationsare implemented, a variety of transmitting and receiving transducerswill be present in the vehicle passenger compartment. If several ofthese transducers are ultrasonic transmitters and receivers, they can beoperated in a phased array manner, as described elsewhere for theheadrest, to permit precise distance measurements and mapping of thecomponents of the passenger compartment. This is illustrated in FIG. 14which is a perspective view of the interior of the passenger compartmentshowing a variety of transmitters and receivers, 6, 8, 9, 23, 49-51which can be used in a sort of phased array system. In addition,information can be transmitted between the transducers using codedsignals in an ultrasonic network through the vehicle compartmentairspace. If one of these sensors is an optical CCD or CMOS array, thelocation of the driver's eyes can be accurately determined and theresults sent to the seat ultrasonically. Obviously, many otherpossibilities exist for automobile and other vehicle monitoringsituations.

To use ultrasonic transducers in a phase array mode generally requiresthat the transducers have a low Q. Certain new micromachined capacitivetransducers appear to be suitable for such an application. The range ofsuch transducers is at present limited, however.

The speed of sound varies with temperature, humidity, and pressure. Thiscan be compensated for by using the fact that the geometry between thetransducers is known and the speed of sound can therefore be measured.Thus, on vehicle startup and as often as desired thereafter, the speedof sound can be measured by one transducer, such as transducer 18 inFIG. 15, sending a signal which is directly received by anothertransducer 5. Since the distance separating them is known, the speed ofsound can be calculated and the system automatically adjusted to removethe variation due to variations in the speed of sound. Therefore, thesystem operates with same accuracy regardless of the temperature,humidity or atmospheric pressure. It may even be possible to use thistechnique to also automatically compensate for any effects due to windvelocity through an open window. An additional benefit of this system isthat it can be used to determine the vehicle interior temperature foruse by other control systems within the vehicle since the variation inthe velocity of sound is a strong function of temperature and a weakfunction of pressure and humidity.

The problem with the speed of sound measurement described above is thatsome object in the vehicle may block the path from one transducer to theother. This of course could be checked and a correction would not bemade if the signal from one transducer does not reach the othertransducer. The problem, however, is that the path might not becompletely blocked but only slightly blocked. This would cause theultrasonic path length to increase, which would give a false indicationof a temperature change. This can be solved by using more than onetransducer. All of the transducers can broadcast signals to all of theother transducers. The problem here, of course, is which transducer pairshould be believed if they all give different answers. The answer is theone that gives the shortest distance or the greatest calculated speed ofsound. By this method, there are a total of 6 separate paths for fourultrasonic transducers.

An alternative method of determining the temperature is to use thetransducer circuit to measure some parameter of the transducer thatchanges with temperature. For example, the natural frequency ofultrasonic transducers changes in a known manner with temperature andtherefore by measuring the natural frequency of the transducer, thetemperature can be determined. Since this method does not requirecommunication between transducers, it would also work in situationswhere each transducer has a different resonant frequency.

The process, by which all of the distances are carefully measured fromeach transducer to the other transducers, and the algorithm developed todetermine the speed of sound, is a novel part of the teachings of theinstant invention for use with ultrasonic transducers. Prior to this,the speed of sound calculation was based on a single transmission fromone transducer to a known second transducer. This resulted in aninaccurate system design and degraded the accuracy of systems in thefield.

If the electronic control module that is part of the system is locatedin generally the same environment as the transducers, another method ofdetermining the temperature is available. This method utilizes a deviceand whose temperature sensitivity is known and which is located in thesame box as the electronic circuit. In fact, in many cases, an existingcomponent on the printed circuit board can be monitored to give anindication of the temperature. For example, the diodes in a logcomparison circuit have characteristics that their resistance changes ina known manner with temperature. It can be expected that the electronicmodule will generally be at a higher temperature than the surroundingenvironment, however, the temperature difference is a known andpredictable amount. Thus, a reasonably good estimation of thetemperature in the passenger compartment, or other containercompartment, can also be obtained in this manner. Naturally, thermistersor other temperature transducers can be used.

The placement of ultrasonic transducers for the example of ultrasonicoccupant position sensor system of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein include the following novel disclosures: (1) theapplication of two sensors to single-axis monitoring of target volumes;(2) the method of locating two sensors spanning a target volume to senseobject positions, that is, transducers are mounted along the sensingaxis beyond the objects to be sensed; (3) the method of orientation ofthe sensor axis for optimal target discrimination parallel to the axisof separation of distinguishing target features; and (4) the method ofdefining the head and shoulders and supporting surfaces as defininghumans for rear facing child seat detection and forward facing humandetection.

A similar set of observations is available for the use ofelectromagnetic, capacitive, electric field or other sensors and forother vehicle monitoring situations. Such rules however must take intoaccount that some of such sensors typically are more accurate inmeasuring lateral and vertical dimensions relative to the sensor thandistances perpendicular to the sensor. This is particularly the case forCMOS and CCD-based transducers.

Considerable work is ongoing to improve the resolution of the ultrasonictransducers. To take advantage of higher resolution transducers, datapoints should be obtained that are closer together in time. This meansthat after the envelope has been extracted from the returned signal, thesampling rate should be increased from approximately 1000 samples persecond to perhaps 2000 samples per second or even higher. By doubling ortripling the amount of data required to be analyzed, the system which ismounted on the vehicle will require greater computational power. Thisresults in a more expensive electronic system. Not all of the data is ofequal importance, however. The position of the occupant in the normalseating position does not need to be known with great accuracy whereas,as that occupant is moving toward the keep out zone boundary duringpre-crash braking, the spatial accuracy requirements become moreimportant. Fortunately, the neural network algorithm generating systemhas the capability of indicating to the system designer the relativevalue of each data point used by the neural network. Thus, as many as,for example, 500 data points per vector may be collected and fed to theneural network during the training stage and, after careful pruning, thefinal number of data points to be used by the vehicle mounted system maybe reduced to 150, for example. This technique of using the neuralnetwork algorithm-generating program to prune the input data is animportant teaching of the present invention.

By this method, the advantages of higher resolution transducers can beoptimally used without increasing the cost of the electronicvehicle-mounted circuits. Also, once the neural network has determinedthe spacing of the data points, this can be fine-tuned, for example, byacquiring more data points at the edge of the keep out zone as comparedto positions well into the safe zone. The initial technique is done bycollecting the full 500 data points, for example, while in the systeminstalled in the vehicle the data digitization spacing can be determinedby hardware or software so that only the required data is acquired.

1.1.2 Thermal Gradients

Thermal gradients can affect the propagation of sound within a vehicleinterior in at least two general ways. These have been termed“long-term” and “short-term” thermal instability. When ultrasound wavestravel through a region of varying air density, the direction the wavestravel can be bent in much the same way that light waves are bent whengoing through the waves of a swimming pool resulting in varyingreflection patterns off of the bottom.

Long-term instability is caused when a stable thermal gradient occurs inthe vehicle as happens, for example, when the sun beats down on thevehicle's roof and the windows are closed. This effect can be reproducedin vehicles in laboratory tests using a heat lamp within the vehicle.The effect has been largely eliminated through training the neuralnetwork with data taken when the gradient is present. Additionally,changes in the electronics hardware including greater signal strengthand a log amplifier, as discussed below, have eliminated the effect.

Short-term instability results when there is a flow of hot or cold airwithin the vehicle, such as caused by operating the heater when thevehicle is cold, or the air conditioner when the vehicle is hot. Benchtests have demonstrated that a combination of greater signal strengthand a logarithmic amplification of the return signal can substantiallyreduce the variability of the reflected ultrasound signal from a targetcaused by short term instability. As with the long-term instability, itis important to train the neural network with this effect present. Whenthe combination of these hardware changes and training is used, theshort-term thermal instability is substantially reduced. If the datafrom five or more consecutive vectors is averaged, the effect becomesinsignificant, see pre and post-processing descriptions below. A vectoris the combined digitized data from, for example in this case, the fourtransducers, which is inputted into the neural network as describedabove.

Different techniques for compensating for thermal gradients are listedin the '979 application incorporated by reference herein, namely insections 1.1.2.1.

1.2 Optics

In FIG. 4, the ultrasonic transducers of the previous designs arereplaced by laser transducers 8 and 9 which are connected to amicroprocessor 20. In all other manners, the system operates the same.The design of the electronic circuits for this laser system is describedin some detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462 and in particular FIG. 8thereof and the corresponding description. In this case, a patternrecognition system such as a neural network system is employed and usesthe demodulated signals from the laser transducers 8 and 9.

A more complicated and sophisticated system is shown conceptually inFIG. 5 where transmitter/receiver assembly 52 is illustrated. In thiscase, as described briefly above, an infrared transmitter and a pair ofoptical receivers are used to capture the reflection of the passenger.When this system is used to monitor the driver as shown in FIG. 5, withappropriate circuitry and a microprocessor, the behavior of the drivercan be monitored. Using this system, not only can the position andvelocity of the driver be determined and used in conjunction with anairbag system, but it is also possible to determine whether the driveris falling asleep or exhibiting other potentially dangerous behavior bycomparing portions of his/her image over time. In this case, the speedof the vehicle can be reduced or the vehicle even stopped if this actionis considered appropriate. This implementation has the highestprobability of an unimpeded view of the driver since he/she must have aclear view through the windshield in order to operate the motor vehicle.

The output of microprocessor 20 of the monitoring system is shownconnected schematically to a general interface 36 which can be thevehicle ignition enabling system; the entertainment system; the seat,mirror, suspension or other adjustment systems; telematics or any otherappropriate vehicle system.

FIG. 8A illustrates a typical wave pattern of transmitted infrared wavesfrom transmitter/receiver assembly 49, which is mounted on the side ofthe vehicle passenger compartment above the front, driver's side door.Transmitter/receiver assembly 51, shown overlaid ontotransmitter/receiver 49, is actually mounted in the center headliner ofthe passenger compartment (and thus between the driver's seat and thefront passenger seat), near the dome light, and is aimed toward thedriver. Typically, there will be a symmetrical installation for thepassenger side of the vehicle. That is, a transmitter/receiver assemblywould be arranged above the front, passenger side door and anothertransmitter/receiver assembly would be arranged in the center headliner,near the dome light, and aimed toward the front, passenger side door.Additional transducers can be mounted in similar places for monitoringboth rear seat positions, another can be used for monitoring the trunkor any other interior volumes. As with the ultrasonic installations,most of the examples below are for automobile applications since theseare generally the most complicated. Nevertheless, at least one of theinventions disclosed herein is not limited to automobile vehicles andsimilar but generally simpler designs apply to other vehicles such asshipping containers, railroad cars and truck trailers.

In a preferred embodiment, each transmitter/receiver assembly 49, 51comprises an optical transducer, which may be a camera and an LED, thatwill frequently be used in conjunction with other opticaltransmitter/receiver assemblies such as shown at 50, 52 and 54, whichact in a similar manner. In some cases, especially when a low costsystem is used primarily to categorize the seat occupancy, a single ordual camera installation is used. In many cases, the source ofillumination is not co-located with the camera. For example, in onepreferred implementation, two cameras such as 49 and 51 are used with asingle illumination source located at 49.

These optical transmitter/receiver assemblies frequently comprise anoptical transmitter, which may be an infrared LED (or possibly a nearinfrared (NIR) LED), a laser with a diverging lens or a scanning laserassembly, and a receiver such as a CCD or CMOS array and particularly anactive pixel CMOS camera or array or a HDRL or HDRC camera or array asdiscussed below. The transducer assemblies map the location of theoccupant(s), objects and features thereof, in a two or three-dimensionalimage as will now be described in more detail.

Optical transducers using CCD arrays are now becoming price competitiveand, as mentioned above, will soon be the technology of choice forinterior vehicle monitoring. A single CCD array of 160 by 160 pixels,for example, coupled with the appropriate trained pattern recognitionsoftware, can be used to form an image of the head of an occupant andaccurately locate the head, eyes, ears etc. for some of the purposes ofat least one of the inventions disclosed herein.

The location or position of the occupant can be determined in variousways as noted and listed above and below as well. Generally, any type ofoccupant sensor can be used. Some particular occupant sensors which canbe used in the systems and methods in accordance with the invention.Specifically, a camera or other device for obtaining images of apassenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant andanalyzing the images can be mounted at the locations of the transmitterand/or receiver assemblies 49, 50, 51, and 54 in FIG. 8C. The camera orother device may be constructed to obtain three-dimensional imagesand/or focus the images on one or more optical arrays such as CCDs.Further, a mechanism for moving a beam of radiation through a passengercompartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant, i.e., a scanningsystem, can be used. When using ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves, thetime of flight between the transmission and reception of the waves canbe used to determine the position of the occupant. The occupant sensorcan also be arranged to receive infrared radiation from a space in apassenger compartment of the vehicle occupied by the occupant. It canalso comprise an electric field sensor operative in a seat occupied bythe occupant or a capacitance sensor operative in a seat occupied by theoccupant. The implementation of such sensors in the invention will bereadily appreciated by one skilled in the art in view of the disclosureherein of general occupant sensors for sensing the position of theoccupant using waves, energy or radiation.

Looking now at FIG. 16, a schematic illustration of a system forcontrolling operation of a vehicle based on recognition of an authorizedindividual in accordance with the invention is shown. One or more imagesof the passenger compartment 105 are received at 106 and data derivedtherefrom at 107. Multiple image receivers may be provided at differentlocations. The data derivation may entail any one or more of numeroustypes of image processing techniques such as those described in U.S.Pat. No. 6,397,136 including those designed to improve the clarity ofthe image. A pattern recognition algorithm, e.g., a neural network, istrained in a training phase 108 to recognize authorized individuals. Thetraining phase can be conducted upon purchase of the vehicle by thedealer or by the owner after performing certain procedures provided tothe owner, e.g., entry of a security code or key. In the case of theoperator of a truck or when such an operator takes possession of atrailer or cargo container, the identity of the operator can be sent bytelematics to a central station for recording and perhaps furtherprocessing.

In the training phase for a theft prevention system, the authorizeddriver(s) would sit themselves in the driver or passenger seat andoptical images would be taken and processed to obtain the patternrecognition algorithm. A processor 109 is embodied with the patternrecognition algorithm thus trained to identify whether a person is theauthorized individual by analysis of subsequently obtained data derivedfrom optical images. The pattern recognition algorithm in processor 109outputs an indication of whether the person in the image is anauthorized individual for which the system is trained to identify. Asecurity system 110 enables operations of the vehicle when the patternrecognition algorithm provides an indication that the person is anindividual authorized to operate the vehicle and prevents operation ofthe vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithm does not provide anindication that the person is an individual authorized to operate thevehicle.

Optionally, an optical transmitting unit 111 is provided to transmitelectromagnetic energy into the passenger compartment, or other volumein the case of other vehicles, such that electromagnetic energytransmitted by the optical transmitting unit is reflected by the personand received by the optical image reception device 106.

As noted above, several different types of optical reception devices canbe used including a CCD array, a CMOS array, focal plane array (FPA),Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP), any type of two-dimensionalimage receiver, any type of three-dimensional image receiver, an activepixel camera and an HDRC camera.

The processor 109 can be trained to determine the position of theindividuals included in the images obtained by the optical imagereception device, as well as the distance between the optical imagereception devices and the individuals.

Instead of a security system, another component in the vehicle can beaffected or controlled based on the recognition of a particularindividual. For example, the rear view mirror, seat, seat belt anchoragepoint, headrest, pedals, steering wheel, entertainment system, ridequality, air-conditioning/ventilation system can be adjusted.

Systems based on ultrasonics and neural networks have been verysuccessful in analyzing the seated-state of both the passenger anddriver seats of automobiles. Such systems are now going into productionfor preventing airbag deployment when a rear facing child seat or andout-of-position occupant is present. The ultrasonic systems, however,suffer from certain natural limitations that prevent system accuracyfrom getting better than about 99 percent. These limitations relate tothe fact that the wavelength of ultrasound is typically between 3 mm and8 mm. As a result, unexpected results occur which are due partially tothe interference of reflections from different surfaces. Additionally,commercially available ultrasonic transducers are tuned devices thatrequire several cycles before they transmit significant energy andsimilarly require several cycles before they effectively receive thereflected signals. This requirement has the effect of smearing theresolution of the ultrasound to the point that, for example, using aconventional 40 kHz transducer, the resolution of the system isapproximately three inches.

In contrast, the wavelength of near infrared is less than one micron andno significant interferences occur. Similarly, the system is not tunedand therefore is theoretically sensitive to a very few cycles. As aresult, resolution of the optical system is determined by the pixelspacing in the CCD or CMOS arrays. For this application, typical arrayshave been chosen to be 100 pixels by 100 pixels and therefore the spacebeing imaged can be broken up into pieces that are significantly lessthan 1 cm in size. Naturally, if greater resolution is required arrayshaving larger numbers of pixels are readily available. Another advantageof optical systems is that special lenses can be used to magnify thoseareas where the information is most critical and operate at reducedresolution where this is not the case. For example, the area closest tothe at-risk zone in front of the airbag can be magnified.

To summarize, although ultrasonic neural network systems are operatingwith high accuracy, they do not totally eliminate the problem of deathsand injuries caused by airbag deployments. Optical systems, on the otherhand, at little or no increase in cost, have the capability of virtually100 percent accuracy. Additional problems of ultrasonic systems arisefrom the slow speed of sound and diffraction caused by variations is airdensity. The slow sound speed limits the rate at which data can becollected and thus eliminates the possibility of tracking the motion ofan occupant during a high speed crash.

In an embodiment wherein electromagnetic energy is used, it is to beappreciated that any portion of the electromagnetic signals thatimpinges upon a body portion of the occupant is at least partiallyabsorbed by the body portion. Sometimes, this is due to the fact thatthe human body is composed primarily of water, and that electromagneticenergy at certain frequencies can be readily absorbed by water. Theamount of electromagnetic signal absorption is related to the frequencyof the signal, and size or bulk of the body portion that the signalimpinges upon. For example, a torso of a human body tends to absorb agreater percentage of electromagnetic energy as compared to a hand of ahuman body for some frequencies.

Thus, when electromagnetic waves or energy signals are transmitted by atransmitter, the returning waves received by a receiver provide anindication of the absorption of the electromagnetic energy. That is,absorption of electromagnetic energy will vary depending on the presenceor absence of a human occupant, the occupant's size, bulk, etc., so thatdifferent signals will be received relating to the degree or extent ofabsorption by the occupying item on a seat or elsewhere in the vehicle.The receiver will produce a signal representative of the returned wavesor energy signals which will thus constitute an absorption signal as itcorresponds to the absorption of electromagnetic energy by the occupyingitem in the seat.

Another optical infrared transmitter and receiver assembly is showngenerally at 52 in FIG. 5 and is mounted onto the instrument panelfacing the windshield. Although not shown in this view, reference 52consists of three devices, one transmitter and two receivers, one oneach side of the transmitter. In this case, the windshield is used toreflect the illumination light, and also the light reflected back by thedriver, in a manner similar to the “heads-up” display which is now beingoffered on several automobile models. The “heads-up” display, of course,is currently used only to display information to the driver and is notused to reflect light from the driver to a receiver. In this case, thedistance to the driver is determined stereoscopically through the use ofthe two receivers. In its most elementary sense, this system can be usedto measure the distance between the driver and the airbag module. Inmore sophisticated applications, the position of the driver, andparticularly of the driver's head, can be monitored over time and anybehavior, such as a drooping head, indicative of the driver fallingasleep or of being incapacitated by drugs, alcohol or illness can bedetected and appropriate action taken. Other forms of radiationincluding visual light, radar, terahertz and microwaves as well as highfrequency ultrasound could also be used by those skilled in the art.

A passive infrared system could be used to determine the position of anoccupant relative to an airbag or even to detect the presence of a humanor other life form in a vehicle. Passive infrared measures the infraredradiation emitted by the occupant and compares it to the background. Assuch, unless it is coupled with an imager and a pattern recognitionsystem, it can best be used to determine that an occupant is movingtoward the airbag since the amount of infrared radiation would then beincreasing. Therefore, it could be used to estimate the velocity of theoccupant but not his/her position relative to the airbag, since theabsolute amount of such radiation will depend on the occupant's size,temperature and clothes as well as on his position. When passiveinfrared is used in conjunction with another distance measuring system,such as the ultrasonic system described above, the combination would becapable of determining both the position and velocity of the occupantrelative to the airbag. Such a combination would be economical sinceonly the simplest circuits would be required. In one implementation, forexample, a group of waves from an ultrasonic transmitter could be sentto an occupant and the reflected group received by a receiver. Thedistance to the occupant would be proportional to the time between thetransmitted and received groups of waves and the velocity determinedfrom the passive infrared system. This system could be used in any ofthe locations illustrated in FIG. 5 as well as others not illustratedincluding truck trailers and cargo containers.

Recent advances in Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (QWIP) areparticularly applicable here due to the range of frequencies that theycan be designed to sense (3-18 microns) which encompasses the radiationnaturally emitted by the human body. Currently, QWIPs need to be cooledand thus are not quite ready for vehicle applications. There are,however, longer wave IR detectors based of focal plane arrays (FPA) thatare available in low resolution now. As the advantages of SWIR, MWIR andLWIR become more evident, devices that image in this part of theelectromagnetic spectrum will become more available.

Passive infrared could also be used effectively in conjunction with apattern recognition system. In this case, the passive infrared radiationemitted from an occupant can be focused onto a QWIP or FPA or even a CCDarray, in some cases, and analyzed with appropriate pattern recognitioncircuitry, or software, to determine the position of the occupant. Sucha system could be mounted at any of the preferred mounting locationsshown in FIG. 5 as well as others not illustrated.

Lastly, it is possible to use a modulated scanning beam of radiation anda single pixel receiver, PIN or avalanche diode, in the inventionsdescribed above. Any form of energy or radiation used above may also bein the infrared or radar spectrums and may be polarized and filters maybe used in the receiver to block out sunlight etc. These filters may benotch filters and may be made integral with the lens as one or morecoatings on the lens surface as is well known in the art. Note, in manyapplications, this may not be necessary as window glass blocks all IRexcept the near IR.

For some cases, such as a laser transceiver that may contain a CMOSarray, CCD, PIN or avalanche diode or other light sensitive devices, ascanner is also required that can be either solid state as in the caseof some radar systems based on a phased array, an acoustical opticalsystem as is used by some laser systems, or a mirror or MEMS basedreflecting scanner, or other appropriate technology.

1.3 Ultrasonics and Optics

In some cases, a combination of an optical system such as a camera andan ultrasonic system can be used. In this case, the optical system canbe used to acquire an image providing information as to the vertical andlateral dimensions of the scene and the ultrasound can be used toprovide longitudinal information, for example.

A more accurate acoustic system for determining the distance to aparticular object, or a part thereof, in the passenger compartment isexemplified by transducers 24 in FIG. 8E. In this case, three ultrasonictransmitter/receivers 24 are shown spaced apart mounted onto theA-pillar of the vehicle. Due to the wavelength, it is difficult to get anarrow beam using ultrasonics without either using high frequencies thathave limited range or a large transducer. A commonly available 40 kHztransducer, for example, is about 1 cm. in diameter and emits a sonicwave that spreads at about a sixty-degree angle. To reduce this anglerequires making the transducer larger in diameter. An alternate solutionis to use several transducers and to phase the transmissions from thetransducers so that they arrive at the intended part of the target inphase. Reflections from the selected part of the target are thenreinforced whereas reflections from adjacent parts encounterinterference with the result that the distance to the brightest portionwithin the vicinity of interest can be determined. A low-Q transducermay be necessary for this application.

By varying the phase of transmission from the three transducers 24, thelocation of a reflection source on a curved line can be determined. Inorder to locate the reflection source in space, at least one additionaltransmitter/receiver is required which is not co-linear with the others.The waves shown in FIG. 8E coming from the three transducers 24 areactually only the portions of the waves which arrive at the desiredpoint in space together in phase. The effective direction of these wavestreams can be varied by changing the transmission phase between thethree transmitters 24.

A determination of the approximate location of a point of interest onthe occupant can be accomplished by a CCD or CMOS array and appropriateanalysis and the phasing of the ultrasonic transmitters is determined sothat the distance to the desired point can be determined.

Although the combination of ultrasonics and optics has been described,it will now be obvious to others skilled in the art that other sensortypes can be combined with either optical or ultrasonic transducersincluding weight sensors of all types as discussed below, as well aselectric field, chemical, temperature, humidity, radiation, vibration,acceleration, velocity, position, proximity, capacitance, angular rate,heartbeat, radar, other electromagnetic, and other sensors.

1.4 Other Transducers

In FIG. 4, the ultrasonic transducers of the previous designs can bereplaced by laser or other electromagnetic wave transducers ortransceivers 8 and 9, which are connected to a microprocessor 20. Asdiscussed above, these are only illustrative mounting locations and anyof the locations described herein are suitable for particulartechnologies. Also, such electromagnetic transceivers are meant toinclude the entire electromagnetic spectrum including from X-rays to lowfrequencies where sensors such as capacitive or electric field sensorsincluding so called “displacement current sensors” as discussed indetail elsewhere herein, and the auto-tune antenna sensor also discussedherein operate.

2. Adaptation

Let us now consider the process of adapting a system of occupant orobject sensing transducers to a vehicle. For example, if a candidatesystem for an automobile consisting of eight transducers is considered,four ultrasonic transducers and four weight transducers, and if costconsiderations require the choice of a smaller total number oftransducers, it is a question of which of the eight transducers shouldbe eliminated. Fortunately, the neural network technology discussedbelow provides a technique for determining which of the eighttransducers is most important, which is next most important, etc. If thesix most critical transducers are chosen, that is the six transducerswhich contain or provide the most useful information as determined bythe neural network, a neural network can be trained using data fromthose six transducers and the overall accuracy of the system can bedetermined. Experience has determined, for example, that typically thereis almost no loss in accuracy by eliminating two of the eighttransducers, for example, two of the strain gage weight sensors. Aslight loss of accuracy occurs when one of the ultrasonic transducers isthen eliminated. In this manner, by the process of adaptation, the mostcost effective system can be determined from a proposed set of sensors.

This same technique can be used with the additional transducersdescribed throughout this disclosure. A transducer space can bedetermined with perhaps twenty different transducers comprised ofultrasonic, optical, electromagnetic, electric field, motion, heartbeat,weight, seat track, seatbelt payout, seatback angle and other types oftransducers depending on the particular vehicle application. The neuralnetwork can then be used in conjunction with a cost function todetermine the cost of system accuracy. In this manner, the optimumcombination of any system cost and accuracy level can be determined.

System Adaptation involves the process by which the hardwareconfiguration and the software algorithms are determined for aparticular vehicle. Each vehicle model or platform will most likely havea different hardware configuration and different algorithms. Some of thevarious aspects that make up this process are as follows:

-   -   The determination of the mounting location and aiming or        orientation of the transducers.    -   The determination of the transducer field angles or area or        volume monitored    -   The use of a combination neural network algorithm generating        program such as available from International Scientific        Research, Inc. to help generate the algorithms or other pattern        recognition algorithm generation program. (as described below)    -   The process of the collection of data in the vehicle, for        example, for neural network training purposes.    -   The method of automatic movement of the vehicle seats or other        structures or objects etc. while data is collected    -   The determination of the quantity of data to acquire and the        setups needed to achieve a high system accuracy, typically        several hundred thousand vectors or data sets.    -   The collection of data in the presence of varying environmental        conditions such as with thermal gradients.    -   The photographing of each data setup.    -   The makeup of the different databases and the use of typically        three different databases.    -   The method by which the data is biased to give higher        probabilities for, e.g., forward facing humans.    -   The automatic recording of the vehicle setup including seat,        seat back, headrest, window, visor, armrest, and other object        positions, for example, to help insure data integrity.    -   The use of a daily setup to validate that the transducer        configuration and calibration has not changed.    -   The method by which bad data is culled from the database.    -   The inclusion of the Fourier transforms and other pre-processors        of the data in the algorithm generation process if appropriate.    -   The use of multiple algorithm levels, for example, for        categorization and position.    -   The use of multiple algorithms in parallel.    -   The use of post processing filters and the particularities of        these filters.    -   The addition of fuzzy logic or other human intelligence based        rules.    -   The method by which data errors are corrected using, for        example, a neural network.    -   The use of a neural network generation program as the pattern        recognition algorithm generating system, if appropriate.    -   The use of back propagation neural networks for training.    -   The use of vector or data normalization.    -   The use of feature extraction techniques, for ultrasonic systems        for example, including:

The number of data points prior to a peak.

The normalization factor.

The total number of peaks.

The vector or data set mean or variance.

-   -   The use of feature extraction techniques, for optics systems for        example, including:

Motion.

Edge detection.

Feature detection such as the eyes, head etc.

Texture detection.

Recognizing specific features of the vehicle.

Line subtraction—i.e., subtracting one line of pixels from the adjacentline with every other line illuminated. This works primarily only withrolling shutter cameras. The equivalent for a snapshot camera is tosubtract an artificially illuminated image from one that is illuminatedonly with natural light.

-   -   The use of other computational intelligence systems such as        genetic algorithms    -   The use the data screening techniques.    -   The techniques used to develop stable networks including the        concepts of old and new networks.    -   The time spent or the number of iterations spent in, and method        of arriving at stable networks.    -   The technique where a small amount of data is collected first        such as 16 sheets followed by a complete data collection        sequence.    -   The use of a cellular neural network for high speed data        collection and analysis when electromagnetic transducers are        used.    -   The use of a support vector machine.

The process of adapting the system to the vehicle begins with a surveyof the vehicle model. Any existing sensors, such as seat positionsensors, seat back sensors, door open sensors etc., are immediatecandidates for inclusion into the system. Input from the customer willdetermine what types of sensors would be acceptable for the finalsystem. These sensors can include: seat structure-mounted weightsensors, pad-type weight sensors, pressure-type weight sensors (e.g.,bladders), seat fore and aft position sensors, seat-mounted capacitance,electric field or antenna sensors, seat vertical position sensors, seatangular position sensors, seat back position sensors, headrest positionsensors, ultrasonic occupant sensors, optical occupant sensors,capacitive sensors, electric field sensors, inductive sensors, radarsensors, vehicle velocity and acceleration sensors, shock and vibrationsensors, temperature sensors, chemical sensors, radiation sensors, brakepressure, seatbelt force, payout and buckle sensors, accelerometers,gyroscopes, etc. A candidate array of sensors is then chosen and mountedonto the vehicle. At least one of the inventions disclosed hereincontemplates final systems including any such sensors or combinations ofsuch sensors, where appropriate, for the monitoring of the interiorand/or exterior of any vehicle as the term is defined above.

The vehicle can also be instrumented so that data input by humans isminimized. Thus, the positions of the various components in the vehiclesuch as the seats, windows, sun visor, armrest, etc. are automaticallyrecorded where possible. Also, the position of the occupant while datais being taken is also recorded through a variety of techniques such asdirect ultrasonic ranging sensors, optical ranging sensors, radarranging sensors, optical tracking sensors etc., where appropriate.Special cameras can also be installed to take one or more pictures ofthe setup to correspond to each vector of data collected or at someother appropriate frequency. Herein, a vector is used to represent a setof data collected at a particular epoch or representative of theoccupant or environment of vehicle at a particular point in time.

A standard set of vehicle setups is chosen for initial trial datacollection purposes. Typically, the initial trial will consist ofbetween 20,000 and 100,000 setups, although this range is not intendedto limit the invention.

Initial digital data collection now proceeds for the trial setup matrix.The data is collected from the transducers, digitized and combined toform to a vector of input data for analysis by a pattern recognitionsystem such as a neural network program or combination neural networkprogram. This analysis should yield a training accuracy of nearly 100%.If this is not achieved, then additional sensors are added to the systemor the configuration changed and the data collection and analysisrepeated. Note, in some cases the task is sufficiently simple that aneural network is not necessary, such as the determination that atrailer is not empty.

In addition to a variety of seating states for objects in the passengercompartment, for example, the trial database can also includeenvironmental effects such as thermal gradients caused by heat lamps andthe operation of the air conditioner and heater, or where appropriatelighting variations or other environmental variations that might affectparticular transducer types. A sample of such a matrix is presented inFIGS. 82A-82H of the '881 application, with some of the variables andobjects used in the matrix being designated or described in FIGS. 76-81Dfor automotive occupant sensing (of the '881 application). A similarmatrix can be generated for other vehicle monitoring applications suchas cargo containers and truck trailers. After the neural network hasbeen trained on the trial database, the trial database will be scannedfor vectors that yield erroneous results (which would likely beconsidered bad data). A study of those vectors along with vectors fromassociated in time cases are compared with the photographs to determinewhether there is erroneous data present. If so, an attempt is made todetermine the cause of the erroneous data. If the cause can be found,for example if a voltage spike on the power line corrupted the data,then the vector will be removed from the database and an attempt is madeto correct the data collection process so as to remove suchdisturbances.

At this time, some of the sensors may be eliminated from the sensormatrix. This can be determined during the neural network analysis, forexample, by selectively eliminating sensor data from the analysis to seewhat the effect if any results. Caution should be exercised here,however, since once the sensors have been initially installed in thevehicle, it requires little additional expense to use all of theinstalled sensors in future data collection and analysis.

The neural network, or other pattern recognition system, that has beendeveloped in this first phase can be used during the data collection inthe next phases as an instantaneous check on the integrity of the newvectors being collected.

The next set of data to be collected when neural networks are used, forexample, is the training database. This will usually be the largestdatabase initially collected and will cover such setups as listed, forexample, in FIGS. 82A-82H of the '881 application for occupant sensing.The training database, which may contain 500,000 or more vectors, willbe used to begin training of the neural network or other patternrecognition system. In the foregoing description, a neural network willbe used for exemplary purposes with the understanding that the inventionis not limited to neural networks and that a similar process exists forother pattern recognition systems. At least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein is largely concerned with the use of patternrecognition systems for vehicle internal monitoring. The best mode is touse trained pattern recognition systems such as neural networks. Whilethis is taking place, additional data will be collected according toFIGS. 78-80 and 83 of the independent and validation databases (of the'881 application).

The training database is usually selected so that it uniformly coversall seated states that are known to be likely to occur in the vehicle.The independent database may be similar in makeup to the trainingdatabase or it may evolve to more closely conform to the occupancy statedistribution of the validation database. During the neural networktraining, the independent database is used to check the accuracy of theneural network and to reject a candidate neural network design if itsaccuracy, measured against the independent database, is less than thatof a previous network architecture.

Although the independent database is not actually used in the trainingof the neural network, nevertheless, it has been found that itsignificantly influences the network structure or architecture.Therefore, a third database, the validation or real world database, isused as a final accuracy check of the chosen system. It is the accuracyagainst this validation database that is considered to be the systemaccuracy. The validation database is usually composed of vectors takenfrom setups which closely correlate with vehicle occupancy in realvehicles on the roadway or wherever they are used. Initially, thetraining database is usually the largest of the three databases. As timeand resources permit, the independent database, which perhaps starts outwith 100,000 vectors, will continue to grow until it becomesapproximately the same size or even larger than the training database.The validation database, on the other hand, will typically start outwith as few as 50,000 vectors. However, as the hardware configuration isfrozen, the validation database will continuously grow until, in somecases, it actually becomes larger than the training database. This isbecause near the end of the program, vehicles will be operating onhighways, ships, railroad tracks etc. and data will be collected in realworld situations. If in the real world tests, system failures arediscovered, this can lead to additional data being taken for both thetraining and independent databases as well as the validation database.

Once a neural network, or other pattern recognition system, has beentrained or otherwise developed using all of the available data from allof the transducers, it is expected that the accuracy of the network willbe very close to 100%. It is usually not practical to use all of thetransducers that have been used in the training of the system for finalinstallation in real production vehicle models. This is primarily due tocost and complexity considerations. Usually, the automobilemanufacturer, or other customer, will have an idea of how manytransducers would be acceptable for installation in a productionvehicle. For example, the data may have been collected using 20different transducers but the customer may restrict the final selectionto 6 transducers. The next process, therefore, is to gradually eliminatetransducers to determine what is the best combination of sixtransducers, for example, to achieve the highest system accuracy.Ideally, a series of neural networks, for example, would be trainedusing all combinations of six transducers from the 20 available. Theactivity would require a prohibitively long time. Certain constraintscan be factored into the system from the beginning to start the pruningprocess. For example, it would probably not make sense to have bothoptical and ultrasonic transducers present in the same system since itwould complicate the electronics. In fact, the customer may have decidedinitially that an optical system would be too expensive and thereforewould not be considered. The inclusion of optical transducers,therefore, serves as a way of determining the loss in accuracy as afunction of cost. Various constraints, therefore, usually allow theimmediate elimination of a significant number of the initial group oftransducers. This elimination and the training on the remainingtransducers provides the resulting accuracy loss that results.

The next step is to remove each of the transducers one at a time anddetermine which sensor has the least effect on the system accuracy. Thisprocess is then repeated until the total number of transducers has beenpruned down to the number desired by the customer. At this point, theprocess is reversed to add in one at a time those transducers that wereremoved at previous stages. It has been found, for example, that asensor that appears to be unimportant during the early pruning processcan become very important later on. Such a sensor may add a small amountof information due to the presence of various other transducers. Whereasthe various other transducers, however, may yield less information thanstill other transducers and, therefore may have been removed during thepruning process. Reintroducing the sensor that was eliminated early inthe cycle therefore can have a significant effect and can change thefinal choice of transducers to make up the system.

The above method of reducing the number of transducers that make up thesystem is but one of a variety approaches which have applicability indifferent situations. In some cases, a Monte Carlo or other statisticalapproach is warranted, whereas in other cases, a design of experimentsapproach has proven to be the most successful. In many cases, anoperator conducting this activity becomes skilled and after a whileknows intuitively what set of transducers is most likely to yield thebest results. During the process it is not uncommon to run multiplecases on different computers simultaneously. Also, during this process,a database of the cost of accuracy is generated. The automobilemanufacturer, for example, may desire to have the total of 6 transducersin the final system, however, when shown the fact that the addition ofone or two additional transducers substantially increases the accuracyof the system, the manufacturer may change his mind. Similarly, theinitial number of transducers selected may be 6 but the analysis couldshow that 4 transducers give substantially the same accuracy as 6 andtherefore the other 2 can be eliminated at a cost saving.

While the pruning process is occurring, the vehicle is subjected to avariety of real world tests and would be subjected to presentations tothe customer. The real world tests are tests that are run at differentlocations than where the fundamental training took place. It has beenfound that unexpected environmental factors can influence theperformance of the system and therefore these tests can provide criticalinformation. The system therefore, which is installed in the testvehicle, should have the capability of recording system failures. Thisrecording includes the output of all of the transducers on the vehicleas well as a photograph of the vehicle setup that caused the error. Thisdata is later analyzed to determine whether the training, independent orvalidation setups need to be modified and/or whether the transducers orpositions of the transducers require modification.

Once the final set of transducers in some cases is chosen, the vehicleis again subjected to real world testing on highways, or wherever it iseventually to be used, and at customer demonstrations. Once again, anyfailures are recorded. In this case, however, since the total number oftransducers in the system is probably substantially less than theinitial set of transducers, certain failures are to be expected. Allsuch failures, if expected, are reviewed carefully with the customer tobe sure that the customer recognizes the system failure modes and isprepared to accept the system with those failure modes.

The system described so far has been based on the use of a single neuralnetwork or other pattern recognition system. It is frequently necessaryand desirable to use combination neural networks, multiple neuralnetworks, cellular neural networks or support vector machines or otherpattern recognition systems. For example, for determining the occupancystate of a vehicle seat or other part of the vehicle, there may be atleast two different requirements. The first requirement is to establishwhat is occupying the seat, for example, and the second requirement isto establish where that object is located. Another requirement might beto simply determine whether an occupying item warranting analysis by theneural networks is present. Generally, a great deal of time, typicallymany seconds, is available for determining whether a forward facinghuman or an occupied or unoccupied rear facing child seat, for example,occupies a vehicle seat. On the other hand, if the driver of the vehicleis trying to avoid an accident and is engaged in panic braking, theposition of an unbelted occupant can be changing rapidly as he or she ismoving toward the airbag. Thus, the problem of determining the locationof an occupant is time critical. Typically, the position of the occupantin such situations must be determined in less than 20 milliseconds.There is no reason for the system to have to determine that a forwardfacing human being is in the seat while simultaneously determining wherethat forward facing human being is. The system already knows that theforward facing human being is present and therefore all of the resourcescan be used to determine the occupant's position. Thus, in thissituation, a dual level or modular neural network can be advantageouslyused. The first level determines the occupancy of the vehicle seat andthe second level determines the position of that occupant. In somesituations, it has been demonstrated that multiple neural networks usedin parallel can provide some benefit. This will be discussed in moredetail below. Both modular and multiple parallel neural networks areexamples of combination neural networks.

The data fed to the pattern recognition system will usually not be theraw vectors of data as captured and digitized from the varioustransducers. Typically, a substantial amount of preprocessing of thedata is undertaken to extract the important information from the datathat is fed to the neural network. This is especially true in opticalsystems and where the quantity of data obtained, if all were used by theneural network, would require very expensive processors. The techniquesof preprocessing data will not be described in detail here. However, thepreprocessing techniques influence the neural network structure in manyways. For example, the preprocessing used to determine what is occupyinga vehicle seat is typically quite different from the preprocessing usedto determine the location of that occupant. Some particularpreprocessing concepts will be discussed in more detail below.

A pattern recognition system, such as a neural network, can sometimesmake irrational decisions. This typically happens when the patternrecognition system is presented with a data set or vector that is unlikeany vector that has been in its training set. The variety of seatingstates of a vehicle is unlimited. Every attempt is made to select fromthat unlimited universe a set of representative cases. Nevertheless,there will always be cases that are significantly different from anythat have been previously presented to the neural network. The finalstep, therefore, to adapting a system to a vehicle, is to add a measureof human intelligence or common sense. Sometimes this goes under theheading of fuzzy logic and the resulting system has been termed in somecases, a neural fuzzy system. In some cases, this takes the form of anobserver studying failures of the system and coming up with rules andthat say, for example, that if transducer A perhaps in combination withanother transducer produces values in this range, then the system shouldbe programmed to override the pattern recognition decision andsubstitute therefor a human decision.

An example of this appears in R. Scorcioni, K. Ng, M. M. Trivedi, N.Lassiter; “MoNiF: A Modular Neuro-Fuzzy Controller for Race CarNavigation”; in Proceedings of the 1997 IEEE Symposium on ComputationalIntelligence and Robotics Applications, Monterey, Calif., USA July 1997,which describes the case of where an automobile was designed forautonomous operation and trained with a neural network, in one case, anda neural fuzzy system in another case. As long as both vehicles operatedon familiar roads both vehicles performed satisfactorily. However, whenplaced on an unfamiliar road, the neural network vehicle failed whilethe neural fuzzy vehicle continued to operate successfully. Naturally,if the neural network vehicle had been trained on the unfamiliar road,it might very well have operated successful. Nevertheless, the criticalfailure mode of neural networks that most concerns people is thisuncertainty as to what a neural network will do when confronted with anunknown state.

One aspect, therefore, of adding human intelligence to the system, is toferret out those situations where the system is likely to fail.Unfortunately, in the current state-of-the-art, this is largely a trialand error activity. One example is that if the range of certain parts ofvector falls outside of the range experienced during training, thesystem defaults to a particular state. In the case of suppressingdeployment of one or more airbags, or other occupant protectionapparatus, this case would be to enable airbag deployment even if thepattern recognition system calls for its being disabled. An alternatemethod is to train a particular module of a modular neural network torecognize good from bad data and reject the bad data before it is fed tothe main neural networks.

The foregoing description is applicable to the systems described in thefollowing drawings and the connection between the foregoing descriptionand the systems described below will be explained below. However, itshould be appreciated that the systems shown in the drawings do notlimit the applicability of the methods or apparatus described above.

Referring again to FIG. 6, and to FIG. 6A which differs from FIG. 6 onlyin the use of a strain gage weight sensor mounted within the seatcushion, motion sensor 73 can be a discrete sensor that detects relativemotion in the passenger compartment of the vehicle. Such sensors arefrequently based on ultrasonics and can measure a change in theultrasonic pattern that occurs over a short time period. Alternately,the subtracting of one position vector from a previous position vectorto achieve a differential position vector can detect motion. For thepurposes herein, a motion sensor will be used to mean either aparticular device that is designed to detect motion for the creation ofa special vector based on vector differences or a neural network trainedto determine motion based on successive vectors.

An ultrasonic, optical or other sensor or transducer system 9 can bemounted on the upper portion of the front pillar, i.e., the A-Pillar, ofthe vehicle and a similar sensor system 6 can be mounted on the upperportion of the intermediate pillar, i.e., the B-Pillar. Each sensorsystem 6, 9 may comprise a transducer. The outputs of the sensor systems6 and 9 can be input to a band pass filter 60 through a multiplexcircuit 59 which can be switched in synchronization with a timing signalfrom the ultrasonic sensor drive circuit 58, for example, and then canbe amplified by an amplifier 61. The band pass filter 60 removes a lowfrequency wave component from the output signal and also removes some ofthe noise. The envelope wave signal can be input to an analog/digitalconverter (ADC) 62 and digitized as measured data. The measured data canbe input to a processing circuit 63, which can be controlled by thetiming signal which can be in turn output from the sensor drive circuit58. The above description applies primarily to systems based onultrasonics and will differ somewhat for optical, electric field andother systems and for different vehicle types.

Each of the measured data can be input to a normalization circuit 64 andnormalized. The normalized measured data can be input to the combinationneural network (circuit) 65, for example, as wave data.

The output of the pressure or weight sensor(s) 7, 76 or 97 (see FIG. 6A)can be amplified by an amplifier 66 coupled to the pressure or weightsensor(s) 7, 76 and 97 and the amplified output can be input to ananalog/digital converter and then directed to the neural network 65, forexample, of the processor means. Amplifier 66 can be useful in someembodiments but it may be dispensed with by constructing the sensors 7,76, 97 to provide a sufficiently strong output signal, and even possiblya digital signal. One manner to do this would be to construct the sensorsystems with appropriate electronics.

The neural network 65 can be directly connected to the ADCs 68 and 69,the ADC associated with amplifier 66 and the normalization circuit 64.As such, information from each of the sensors in the system (a stream ofdata) can be passed directly to the neural network 65 for processingthereby. The streams of data from the sensors are usually not combinedprior to the neural network 65 and the neural network 65 can be designedto accept the separate streams of data (e.g., at least a part of thedata at each input node) and process them to provide an outputindicative of the current occupancy state of the seat or of the vehicle.The neural network 65 thus includes or incorporates a plurality ofalgorithms derived by training in the manners discussed herein. Once thecurrent occupancy state of the seat or vehicle is determined, it ispossible to control vehicular components or systems, such as the airbagsystem or telematics system, in consideration of the current occupancystate of the seat or vehicle.

A discussion of the methodology of adapting a monitoring system to anautomotive vehicle for the purpose primarily of controlling a componentsuch as a restraint system is disclosed in the '881 application withreference to FIGS. 28-36. Generally simpler systems are used for cargocontainer, truck trailer and other vehicle monitoring cases.

In addition to variations in occupancy or seated states, it is importantto consider environmental effects during the data collection. Thermalgradients or thermal instabilities are particularly important forsystems based on ultrasound since sound waves can be significantlydiffracted by density changes in air. There are two aspects of the useof thermal gradients or instability in training. First, the fact thatthermal instabilities exist and therefore data with thermalinstabilities present should be part of database. For this case, arather small amount of data collected with thermal instabilities wouldbe used. A much more important use of thermal instability comes from thefact that they add variability to data. Thus, considerably more data istaken with thermal instability and in fact, in some cases a substantialpercentage of the database is taken with time varying thermal gradientsin order to provide variability to the data so that the neural networkdoes not memorize but instead generalizes from the data. This isaccomplished by taking the data with a cold vehicle with the heateroperating and with a hot vehicle with the air conditioner operating, forexample. Additional data is also taken with a heat lamp in a closedvehicle to simulate a stable thermal gradient caused by sun loading.

To collect data for 500,000 vehicle configurations is not a formidabletask. A trained technician crew can typically collect data on in excesson 2000 configurations or vectors per hour. The data is collectedtypically every 50 to 100 milliseconds. During this time, the occupantis continuously moving, assuming a continuously varying position andposture in the vehicle including moving from side to side, forward andback, twisting his/her head, reading newspapers and books, moving hands,arms, feet and legs, until the desired number of different seated stateexamples are obtained. In some cases, this process is practiced byconfining the motion of an occupant into a particular zone. In somecases, for example, the occupant is trained to exercise these differentseated state motions while remaining in a particular zone that may bethe safe zone, the keep out zone, or an intermediate gray zone. In thismanner, data is collected representing the airbag disable, depoweredairbag-enabled or full power airbag-enabled states. In other cases, theactual position of the back of the head and/or the shoulders of theoccupant are tracked using string pots, high frequency ultrasonictransducers, optically, by RF or other equivalent methods. In thismanner, the position of the occupant can be measured and the decision asto whether this should be a disable or enable airbag case can be decidedlater. By continuously monitoring the occupant, an added advantageresults in that the data can be collected to permit a comparison of theoccupant from one seated state to another. This is particularly valuablein attempting to project the future location of an occupant based on aseries of past locations as would be desirable for example to predictwhen an occupant would cross into the keep out zone during a panicbraking situation prior to crash.

It is important to note that it is not necessary to tailor the systemfor every vehicle produced but rather to tailor it for each model orplatform. However, a neural network, and especially a combination neuralnetwork, can be designed with some adaptability to compensate forvehicle to vehicle differences within a platform such as mountingtolerances, or to changes made by the owner or due to aging. A platformis an automobile manufacturer's designation of a group of vehicle modelsthat are built on the same vehicle structure. A model would also applyto a particular size, shape or geometry of truck trailer or cargocontainer

The methods above have been described mainly in connection with the useof ultrasonic transducers. Many of the methods, however, are alsoapplicable to optical, radar, capacitive, electric field and othersensing systems and where applicable, at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein is not limited to ultrasonic systems. In particular, animportant feature of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein isthe proper placement of two or more separately located receivers suchthat the system still operates with high reliability if one of thereceivers is blocked by some object such as a newspaper or box. Thisfeature is also applicable to systems using electromagnetic radiationinstead of ultrasonic, however the particular locations will differbased on the properties of the particular transducers. Optical sensorsbased on two-dimensional cameras or other image sensors, for example,are more appropriately placed on the sides of a rectangle surroundingthe seat to be monitored, for the automotive vehicle case, rather thanat the corners of such a rectangle as is the case with ultrasonicsensors. This is because ultrasonic sensors measure an axial distancefrom the sensor where the 2D camera is most appropriate for measuringdistances up and down and across its field view rather than distances tothe object. With the use of electromagnetic radiation and the advanceswhich have recently been made in the field of very low light levelsensitivity, it is now possible, in some implementations, to eliminatethe transmitters and use background light as the source of illuminationalong with using a technique such as auto-focusing or stereo vision toobtain the distance from the receiver to the object. Thus, onlyreceivers would be required further reducing the complexity of thesystem.

Although implicit in the above discussion, an important feature of atleast one of the inventions disclosed herein which should be emphasizedis the method of developing a system having distributed transducermountings. Other systems which have attempted to solve the rear facingchild seat (RFCS) and out-of-position problems have relied on a singletransducer mounting location or at most, two transducer mountinglocations. Such systems can be easily blinded by a newspaper or by thehand of an occupant, for example, which is imposed between the occupantand the transducers. This problem is almost completely eliminatedthrough the use of three or more transducers which are mounted so thatthey have distinctly different views of the passenger compartment volumeof interest. If the system is adapted using four transducers, forexample, the system suffers only a slight reduction in accuracy even iftwo of the transducers are covered so as to make them inoperable.However, the automobile manufacturers may not wish to pay the cost ofseveral different mounting locations and an alternate is to mount thesensors high where blockage is difficult and to diagnose whether ablockage state exists.

It is important in order to obtain the full advantages of the systemwhen a transducer is blocked, that the training and independentdatabases contains many examples of blocked transducers. If the patternrecognition system, the neural network in this case, has not beentrained on a substantial number of blocked transducer cases, it will notdo a good job in recognizing such cases later. This is yet anotherinstance where the makeup of the databases is crucial to the success ofdesigning the system that will perform with high reliability in avehicle and is an important aspect of the instant invention. Whencamera-based transducers are used, for example, an alternative strategyis to diagnose when a newspaper or other object is blocking a camera,for example. In most cases, a short time blockage is of littleconsequence since earlier decisions provide the seat occupancy and thedecision to enable deployment or suppress deployment of the occupantrestraint will not change. For a prolonged blockage, the diagnosticsystem can provide a warning light indicating to the driver, operator orother interested party which may be remote from the vehicle, that thesystem is malfunctioning and the deployment decision is again either notchanged or changed to the default decision, which is usually to enabledeployment for the automobile occupant monitoring case.

Let us now consider some specific issues:

1. Blocked transducers. It is sometimes desirable to positively identifya blocked transducer and when such a situation is found to use adifferent neural network which has only been trained on the subset ofunblocked transducers. Such a network, since it has been trainedspecifically on three transducers, for example, will generally performmore accurately than a network which has been trained on fourtransducers with one of the transducers blocked some of the time. Once ablocked transducer has been identified the occupant or other interestedparty can be notified if the condition persists for more than areasonable time.

2. Transducer Geometry. Another technique, which is frequently used indesigning a system for a particular vehicle, is to use a neural networkto determine the optimum mounting locations, aiming or orientationdirections and field angles of transducers. For particularly difficultvehicles, it is sometimes desirable to mount a large number ofultrasonic transducers, for example, and then use the neural network toeliminate those transducers which are least significant. This is similarto the technique described above where all kinds of transducers arecombined initially and later pruned.

3. Data quantity. Since it is very easy to take large amounts data andyet large databases require considerably longer training time for aneural network, a test of the variability of the database can be madeusing a neural network. If, for example, after removing half of the datain the database, the performance of a trained neural network against thevalidation database does not decrease, then the system designer suspectsthat the training database contains a large amount of redundant data.Techniques such as similarity analysis can then be used to remove datathat is virtually indistinguishable from other data. Since it isimportant to have a varied database, it is undesirable generally to haveduplicate or essentially duplicate vectors in the database since thepresence of such vectors can bias the system and drive the system moretoward memorization and away from generalization.

4. Environmental factors. An evaluation can be made of the beneficialeffects of using varying environmental influences, such as temperatureor lighting, during data collection on the accuracy of the system usingneural networks along with a technique such as design of experiments.

5. Database makeup. It is generally believed that the training databasemust be flat, meaning that all of the occupancy states that the neuralnetwork must recognize must be approximately equally represented in thetraining database. Typically, the independent database has approximatelythe same makeup as the training database. The validation database, onthe other hand, typically is represented in a non-flat basis withrepresentative cases from real world experience. Since there is no needfor the validation database to be flat, it can include many of theextreme cases as well as being highly biased towards the most commoncases. This is the theory that is currently being used to determine themakeup of the various databases. The success of this theory continues tobe challenged by the addition of new cases to the validation database.When significant failures are discovered in the validation database, thetraining and independent databases are modified in an attempt to removethe failure.

6. Biasing. All seated state occupancy states are not equally important.The final system for the automotive case for example must be nearly 100%accurate for forward facing “in-position” humans, i.e., normallypositioned humans. Since that will comprise the majority of the realworld situations, even a small loss in accuracy here will cause theairbag to be disabled in a situation where it otherwise would beavailable to protect an occupant. A small decrease in accuracy will thusresult in a large increase in deaths and injuries. On the other hand,there are no serious consequences if the airbag is deployed occasionallywhen the seat is empty. Various techniques are used to bias the data inthe database to take this into account. One technique is to give a muchhigher value to the presence of a forward facing human during thesupervised learning process than to an empty seat. Another technique isto include more data for forward facing humans than for empty seats.This, however, can be dangerous as an unbalanced network leads to a lossof generality.

7. Screening. It is important that the loop be closed on dataacquisition. That is, the data must be checked at the time the data isacquired to be sure that it is good data. Bad data can happen, forexample, because of electrical disturbances on the power line, sourcesof ultrasound such as nearby welding equipment, or due to human error.If the data remains in the training database, for example, then it willdegrade the performance of the network. Several methods exist foreliminating bad data. The most successful method is to take an initialquantity of data, such as 30,000 to 50,000 vectors, and create aninterim network. This is normally done anyway as an initial check on thesystem capabilities prior to engaging in an extensive data collectionprocess. The network can be trained on this data and, as the realtraining data is acquired, the data can be tested against the neuralnetwork created on the initial data set. Any vectors that fail areexamined for reasonableness.

8. Vector normalization method. Through extensive research, it has beenfound that the vector should be normalized based on all of the data inthe vector, that is have all its data values range from 0 to 1. Forparticular cases, however, it has been found desirable to apply thenormalization process selectively, eliminating or treating differentlythe data at the early part of the data from each transducer. This isespecially the case when there is significant ringing on the transduceror cross talk when a separate ultrasonic send and receive transducer isused. There are times when other vector normalization techniques arerequired and the neural network system can be used to determine the bestvector normalization technique for a particular application.

9. Feature extraction. The success of a neural network system canfrequently be aided if additional data is inputted into the network. Oneultrasonic example can be the number of 0 data points before the firstpeak is experienced. Alternately, the exact distance to the first peakcan be determined prior to the sampling of the data. Other features caninclude the number of peaks, the distance between the peaks, the widthof the largest peak, the normalization factor, the vector mean orstandard deviation, etc. These normalization techniques are frequentlyused at the end of the adaptation process to slightly increase theaccuracy of the system.

10. Noise. It has been frequently reported in the literature that addingnoise to the data that is provided to a neural network can improve theneural network accuracy by leading to better generalization and awayfrom memorization. However, the training of the network in the presenceof thermal gradients has been shown to substantially eliminate the needto artificially add noise to the data for ultrasonic systems.Nevertheless, in some cases, improvements have been observed when randomarbitrary noise of a rather low level is superimposed on the trainingdata.

11. Photographic recording of the setup. After all of the data has beencollected and used to train a neural network, it is common to find asignificant number of vectors which, when analyzed by the neuralnetwork, give a weak or wrong decision. These vectors must be carefullystudied especially in comparison with adjacent vectors to see if thereis an identifiable cause for the weak or wrong decision. Perhaps theoccupant was on the borderline of the keep out zone and strayed into thekeep out zone during a particular data collection event. For thisreason, it is desirable to photograph each setup simultaneous with thecollection of the data. This can be done using one or more camerasmounted in positions where they can have a good view of the seatoccupancy. Sometimes several cameras are necessary to minimize theeffects of blockage by a newspaper, for example. Having the photographicrecord of the data setup is also useful when similar results areobtained when the vehicle is subjected to real world testing. Duringreal world testing, one or more cameras should also be present and thetest engineer is required to initiate data collection whenever thesystem does not provide the correct response. The vector and thephotograph of this real world test can later be compared to similarsetups in the laboratory to see whether there is data that was missed inderiving the matrix of vehicle setups for training the vehicle.

12. Automation. When collecting data in the vehicle it is desirable toautomate the motion of the vehicle seat, seatback, windows, visors etc.so that in this manner, the positions of these items can be controlledand distributed as desired by the system designer. This minimizes thepossibility of taking too much data at one configuration and therebyunbalancing the network.

13. Automatic setup parameter recording. To achieve an accurate dataset, the key parameters of the setup should be recorded automatically.These include the temperatures at various positions inside the vehicleand for the automotive case, the position of the vehicle seat, andseatback, the position of the headrest, visor and windows and, wherepossible, the position of the vehicle occupant(s). The automaticrecordation of these parameters minimizes the effects of human errors.

14. Laser Pointers. For the ultrasonic case, during the initial datacollection with full horns mounted on the surface of the passengercompartment, care must the exercised so that the transducers are notaccidentally moved during the data collection process. In order to checkfor this possibility, a small laser diode is incorporated into eachtransducer holder. The laser is aimed so that it illuminates some othersurface of the passenger compartment at a known location. Prior to eachdata taking session, each of the transducer aiming points is checked.

15. Multi-frequency transducer placement. When data is collected fordynamic out-of-position, each of the ultrasonic transducers must operateat a different frequency so that all transducers can transmitsimultaneously. By this method, data can be collected every 10milliseconds, which is sufficiently fast to approximately track themotion of an occupant during pre-crash braking prior to an impact. Aproblem arises in the spacing of the frequencies between the differenttransducers. If the spacing is too close, it becomes very difficult toseparate the signals from different transducers and it also affects thesampling rate of the transducer data and thus the resolution of thetransducers. If an ultrasonic transducer operates at a frequency muchbelow about 35 kHz, it can be sensed by dogs and other animals. If thetransducer operates at a frequency much above 70 kHz, it is verydifficult to make the open type of ultrasonic transducer, which producesthe highest sound pressure. If the multiple frequency system is used forboth the driver and passenger-side, as many as eight separatefrequencies are required. In order to find eight frequencies between 35kHz and 70 kHz, a frequency spacing of 5 kHz is required. In order touse conventional electronic filters and to provide sufficient spacing topermit the desired resolution at the keep out zone border, a 10 kHzspacing is desired. These incompatible requirements can be solvedthrough a careful, judicious placement of the transducers such thattransducers that are within 5 kHz of each other are placed such thatthere is no direct path between the transducers and any indirect path issufficiently long so that it can be filtered temporally. As an example,the transducers can operate at the following frequencies: 65 kHz, 55kHz, 35 kHz, 45 kHz, 50 kHz, 40 kHz, 60 kHz, 70 kHz. Actually, otherarrangements adhering to the principle described above would also work.

16. Use of a PC in data collection. When collecting data for thetraining, independent, and validation databases, it is frequentlydesirable to test the data using various screening techniques and todisplay the data on a monitor. Thus, during data collection the processis usually monitored using a desktop PC for data taken in the laboratoryand a laptop PC for data taken on the road.

17. Use of referencing markers and gages. In addition to and sometimesas a substitution for, the automatic recording of the positions of theseats, seatbacks, windows etc. as described above, a variety of visualmarkings and gages are frequently used. This includes markings to showthe angular position of the seatback, the location of the seat on theseat track, the degree of openness of the window, etc. Also in thosecases where automatic tracking of the occupant is not implemented,visual markings are placed such that a technician can observe that thetest occupant remains within the required zone for the particular datataking exercise. Sometimes, a laser diode is used to create a visualline in the space that represents the boundary of the keep out zone orother desired zone boundary.

18. Subtracting out data that represents reflections from known seatparts or other vehicle components. This is particularly useful if theseat track and seatback recline positions are known.

19. Improved identification and tracking can sometimes be obtained ifthe object can be centered or otherwise located in a particular part ofthe neural network in a manner similar to the way the human eye centersan object to be examined in the center of its field of view.

20. Continuous tracking of the object in place of a zone-based systemalso improves the operation of the pattern recognition system sincediscontinuities are frequently difficult for the pattern recognitionsystem, such as a neural network, to handle. In this case, the locationof the occupant relative to the airbag cover, for example, would bedetermined and then a calculation as to what zone the object is locatedin can be determined and the airbag deployment decision made(suppression, depowered, delayed, deployment). This also permits adifferent suppression zone to be used for different sized occupantsfurther improving the matching of the airbag deployment to the occupant.

It is important to realize that the adaptation process described hereinapplies to any combination of transducers that provide information aboutthe vehicle occupancy. These include weight sensors, capacitive sensors,electric field sensors, inductive sensors, moisture sensors, chemicalsensors, ultrasonic, radiation, optic, infrared, radar, X-ray amongothers. The adaptation process begins with a selection of candidatetransducers for a particular vehicle model. This selection is based onsuch considerations as cost, alternate uses of the system other thanoccupant sensing, vehicle interior compartment geometry, desiredaccuracy and reliability, vehicle aesthetics, vehicle manufacturerpreferences, and others. Once a candidate set of transducers has beenchosen, these transducers are mounted in the test vehicle according tothe teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. Thevehicle is then subjected to an extensive data collection processwherein various objects are placed in the vehicle at various locationsas described below and an initial data set is collected. A patternrecognition system is then developed using the acquired data and anaccuracy assessment is made. Further studies are made to determinewhich, if any, of the transducers can be eliminated from the design. Ingeneral, the design process begins with a surplus of sensors plus anobjective as to how many sensors are to be in the final vehicleinstallation. The adaptation process can determine which of thetransducers are most important and which are least important and theleast important transducers can be eliminated to reduce system cost andcomplexity.

A process for adapting an ultrasonic system to a vehicle will now bedescribed. Note, some steps will not apply to some vehicles. A moredetailed list of steps is provided in Appendix 2 of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/940,811 incorporated by reference herein.Although the pure ultrasonic system is described here for automotiveapplications, a similar or analogous set of steps applies for othervehicle types and when other technologies such as weight and optical(scanning or imager) or other electromagnetic wave or electric fieldsystems such as capacitance and field monitoring systems are used. Thisdescription is thus provided to be exemplary and not limiting:

1. Select transducer, horn and grill designs to fit the vehicle. At thisstage, usually full horns are used which are mounted so that theyproject into the compartment. No attempt is made at this time to achievean esthetic matching of the transducers to the vehicle surfaces. Anestimate of the desired transducer fields is made at this time eitherfrom measurements in the vehicle directly or from CAD drawings.

2. Make polar plots of the transducer ultrasonic fields. Transducers andcandidate horns and grills are assembled and tested to confirm that thedesired field angles have been achieved. This frequently requires someadjustment of the transducers in the horn and of the grill. A properlydesigned grill for ultrasonic systems can perform a similar function asa lens for optical systems.

3. Check to see that the fields cover the required volumes of thevehicle passenger compartment and do not impinge on adjacent flatsurfaces that may cause multipath effects. Redesign horns and grills ifnecessary.

4. Install transducers into vehicle.

5. Map transducer fields in the vehicle and check for multipath effectsand proper coverage.

6. Adjust transducer aim and re-map fields if necessary.

7. Install daily calibration fixture and take standard setup data.

8. Acquire 50,000 to 100,000 vectors of data

9. Adjust vectors for volume considerations by removing some initialdata points if cross talk or ringing is present and some final points tokeep data in the desired passenger compartment volume.

10. Normalize vectors.

11. Run neural network algorithm generating software to create algorithmfor vehicle installation.

12. Check the accuracy of the algorithm. If not sufficiently accuratecollect more data where necessary and retrain. If still not sufficientlyaccurate, add additional transducers to cover holes.

13. When sufficient accuracy is attained, proceed to collect ˜500,000training vectors varying:

Occupancy (see Appendices 1 and 3 of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/940,881 incorporated by reference herein):

Occupant size, position (zones), clothing etc Child seat type, size,position etc.

Empty seat

Vehicle configuration:

Seat position

Window position

Visor and armrest position

Presence of other occupants in adjoining seat or rear seat

Temperature

Temperature gradient—stable

Temperature turbulence—heater and air conditioner

Wind turbulence—High speed travel with windows open, top down etc.

Other similar features when the adaptation is to a vehicle other than anautomobile.

14. Collect ˜100,000 vectors of Independent data using othercombinations of the above

15. Collect ˜50,000 vectors of “real world data” to represent theacceptance criteria and more closely represent the actual seated stateprobabilities in the real world.

16. Train network and create an algorithm using the training vectors andthe Independent data vectors.

17. Validate the algorithm using the real world vectors.

18. Install algorithm into the vehicle and test.

19. Decide on post processing methodology to remove final holes (areasof inaccuracy) in system

20. Implement post-processing methods into the algorithm

21. Final test. The process up until step 13 involves the use oftransducers with full horns mounted on the surfaces of the interiorpassenger compartment. At some point, the actual transducers which areto be used in the final vehicle must be substituted for the trialtransducers. This is either done prior to step 13 or at this step. Thisprocess involves designing transducer holders that blend with the visualsurfaces of the vehicle compartment so that they can be covered with aproperly designed grill that helps control the field and also serves toretain the esthetic quality of the interior. This is usually a lengthyprocess and involves several consultations with the customer. Usually,therefore, the steps from 13-20 are repeated at this point after thefinal transducer and holder design has been selected. The initial datataken with full horns gives a measure of the best system that can bemade to operate in the vehicle. Some degradation in performance isexpected when the aesthetic horns and grills are substituted for thefull horns. By conducting two complete data collection cycles, anaccurate measure of this accuracy reduction can be obtained.

22. Up until this point, the best single neural network algorithm hasbeen developed. The final step is to implement the principles of acombination neural network in order to remove some remaining errorsources such as bad data and to further improve the accuracy of thesystem. It has been found that the implementation of combination neuralnetworks can reduce the remaining errors by up to 50 percent. Acombination neural network CAD optimization program provided byInternational Scientific Research Inc. can now be used to derive theneural network architecture. Briefly, the operator lays out acombination neural network involving many different neural networksarranged in parallel and in series and with appropriate feedbacks whichthe operator believes could be important. The software then optimizeseach neural network and also provides an indication of the value of thenetwork. The operator can then selectively eliminate those networks withlittle or no value and retrain the system. Through this combination ofpruning, retraining and optimizing the final candidate combinationneural network results.

23. Ship to customers to be used in production vehicles.

24. Collect additional real world validation data for continuousimprovement.

More detail on the operation of the transducers and control circuitry aswell as the neural network is provided in the above-referenced patentsand patent applications and elsewhere herein. One particular example ofa successful neural network for the two transducer case had 78 inputnodes, 6 hidden nodes and 1 output node and for the four transducer casehad 176 input nodes 20 hidden layer nodes on hidden layer one, 7 hiddenlayer nodes on hidden layer two and 1 output node. The weights of thenetwork were determined by supervised training using the backpropagation method as described in the above-referenced patents andpatent applications and in more detail in the references cited therein.Other neural network architectures are possible including RCE, LogiconProjection, Stochastic, cellular, or support vector machine, etc. Anexample of a combination neural network system is shown in FIG. 37 ofthe '881 application, incorporated by reference herein. Any of thenetwork architectures mention here can be used for any of the boxes inFIG. 37.

Finally, the system is trained and tested with situations representativeof the manufacturing and installation tolerances that occur during theproduction and delivery of the vehicle as well as usage anddeterioration effects. Thus, for example, the system is tested with thetransducer mounting positions shifted by up to one inch in any directionand rotated by up to 5 degrees, with a simulated accumulation of dirtand other variations. This tolerance to vehicle variation also sometimespermits the installation of the system onto a different but similarmodel vehicle with, in many cases, only minimal retraining of thesystem.

3. Mounting Locations for and Quantity of Transducers

Ultrasonic transducers are relatively good at measuring the distancealong a radius to a reflective object. An optical array, to be discussednow, on the other hand, can get accurate measurements in two dimensions,the lateral and vertical dimensions relative to the transducer. Assumingthe optical array has dimensions of 100 by 100 as compared to anultrasonic sensor that has a single dimension of 100, an optical arraycan therefore provide 100 times more information than the ultrasonicsensor. Most importantly, this vastly greater amount of information doesnot cost significantly more to obtain than the information from theultrasonic sensor.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8A-8D, the optical sensors are typically locatedfor an automotive vehicle at the positions where the desired informationis available with the greatest resolution. These positions are typicallyin the center front and center rear of the occupancy seat and at thecenter on each side and top. This is in contrast to the optimum locationfor ultrasonic sensors, which are the corners of such a rectangle thatoutlines the seated volume. Styling and other constraints often preventmounting of transducers at the optimum locations.

An optical infrared transmitter and receiver assembly is shown generallyat 52 in FIG. 8B and is mounted onto the instrument panel facing thewindshield. Assembly 52 can either be recessed below the upper face ofthe instrument panel or mounted onto the upper face of the instrumentpanel. Assembly 52, shown enlarged, comprises a source of infraredradiation, or another form of electromagnetic radiation, and a CCD, CMOSor other appropriate arrays of typically 160 pixels by 160 pixels. Inthis embodiment, the windshield is used to reflect the illuminationlight provided by the infrared radiation toward the objects in thepassenger compartment and also reflect the light being reflected back bythe objects in the passenger compartment, in a manner similar to the“heads-up” display which is now being offered on several automobilemodels. The “heads-up” display, of course, is currently used only todisplay information to the driver and is not used to reflect light fromthe driver to a receiver. Once again, unless one of the distancemeasuring systems as described below is used, this system alone cannotbe used to determine distances from the objects to the sensor. Its mainpurpose is object identification and monitoring. Depending on theapplication, separate systems can be used for the driver and for thepassenger. In some cases, the cameras located in the instrument panelwhich receive light reflected off of the windshield can be co-locatedwith multiple lenses whereby the respective lenses aimed at the driverand passenger seats respectively.

Assembly 52 is actually about two centimeters or less in diameter and isshown greatly enlarged in FIG. 8B. Also, the reflection area on thewindshield is considerably smaller than illustrated and specialprovisions are made to assure that this area of the windshield is flatand reflective as is done generally when heads-up displays are used. Forcases where there is some curvature in the windshield, it can be atleast partially compensated for by the CCD optics.

Transducers 23-25 are illustrated mounted onto the A-pillar of thevehicle, however, since these transducers are quite small, typicallyless than 2 cm on a side, they could alternately be mounted onto thewindshield itself, or other convenient location which provides a clearview of the portion of the passenger compartment being monitored. Otherpreferred mounting locations include the headliner above and also theside of the seat. Some imagers are now being made that are less than 1cm on a side.

In the preferred implementation, as shown in FIGS. 8A-8E, fourtransducer assemblies are positioned around the seat to be monitored,each can comprise one or more LEDs with a diverging lenses and a CMOSarray. Although illustrated together, the illuminating source in manycases will not be co-located with the receiving array. The LED emits acontrolled angle, 120° for example, diverging cone of infrared radiationthat illuminates the occupant from both sides and from the front andrear. This angle is not to be confused with the field angle used inultrasonic systems. With ultrasound, extreme care is required to controlthe field of the ultrasonic waves so that they will not create multipatheffects and add noise to the system. With infrared, there is no reason,in the implementation now being described, other than to make the mostefficient use of the infrared energy, why the entire vehicle cannot beflooded with infrared energy either from many small sources or from afew bright ones.

The image from each array is used to capture two dimensions of occupantposition information, thus, the array of assembly 50 positioned on thewindshield header, which is approximately 25% of the way laterallyacross the headliner in front of the driver, provides a both verticaland transverse information on the location of the driver. A similar viewfrom the rear is obtained from the array of assembly 54 positionedbehind the driver on the roof of the vehicle and above the seatbackpotion of the seat 72. As such, assembly 54 also provides both verticaland transverse information on the location of the driver. Finally,arrays of assemblies 49 and 51 provide both vertical and longitudinaldriver location information. Another preferred location is the headlinercentered directly above the seat of interest. The position of theassemblies 49-52 and 54 may differ from that shown in the drawings. Inthe invention, in order that the information from two or more of theassemblies 49-52 and 54 may provide a three-dimensional image of theoccupant, or portion of the passenger compartment, the assembliesgenerally should not be arranged side-by-side. A side-by-sidearrangement as used in several prior art references discussed above,will provide two essentially identical views with the difference being alateral shift. This does not enable a complete three-dimensional view ofthe occupant.

One important point concerns the location and number of opticalassemblies. It is possible to use fewer than four such assemblies with apossible resulting loss in accuracy. The number of four was chosen sothat either a forward or rear assembly or either of the side assembliescan be blocked by a newspaper, for example, without seriously degradingthe performance of the system. Since drivers rarely are readingnewspapers while driving, fewer than four arrays are usually adequatefor the driver side. In fact, one is frequently sufficient. One camerais also usually sufficient for the passenger side if the goal of thesystem is classification only or if camera blockage is tolerated foroccupant tracking.

The particular locations of the optical assemblies were chosen to givethe most accurate information as to the locations of the occupant. Thisis based on an understanding of what information can be best obtainedfrom a visual image. There is a natural tendency on the part of humansto try to gauge distance from the optical sensors directly. This, as canbe seen above, is at best complicated involving focusing systems,stereographic systems, multiple arrays and triangulation, time of flightmeasurement, etc. What is not intuitive to humans is to not try toobtain this distance directly from apparatus or techniques associatedwith the mounting location. Whereas ultrasound is quite good formeasuring distances from the transducer (the z-axis), optical systemsare better at measuring distances in the vertical and lateral directions(the x and y-axes). Since the precise locations of the opticaltransducers are known, that is, the geometry of the transducer locationsis known relative to the vehicle, there is no need to try to determinethe displacement of an object of interest from the transducer (thez-axis) directly. This can more easily be done indirectly by anothertransducer. That is, the vehicle z-axis to one transducer is the camerax-axis to another.

Another preferred location of a transmitter/receiver 54 for use withairbags is attached to the steering wheel (see FIG. 5) and gives anaccurate determination of the distance of the driver's chest from theairbag module. This implementation would generally be used with anotherdevice such as 50 at another location. Details about mounting atransmitter/receiver on a cover of an airbag module are set forth in the'881 application.

One problem of the system using a transmitter/receiver on an airbagcover as shown in FIG. 5 is that a driver may have inadvertently placedhis hand over the transmitter/receiver 54, thus defeating the operationof the device. A second confirming transmitter/receiver 50 can thereforebe placed at some other convenient position such as on the roof orheadliner of the passenger compartment as shown in FIG. 5. Thistransmitter/receiver 50 operates in a manner similar totransmitter/receiver 54.

The applications described herein have been illustrated using the driverof the vehicle. The same systems of determining the position of theoccupant relative to the airbag apply to the passenger, sometimesrequiring minor modifications. Also of course, a similar system can beappropriately designed for other monitoring situations such as for cargocontainers and truck trailers.

It is likely that the sensor required triggering time based on theposition of the occupant will be different for the driver than for thepassenger. Current systems are based primarily on the driver with theresult that the probability of injury to the passenger is necessarilyincreased either by deploying the airbag too late or by failing todeploy the airbag when the position of the driver would not warrant itbut the passenger's position would. With the use of occupant positionsensors for both the passenger and driver, the airbag system can beindividually optimized for each occupant and result in furthersignificant injury reduction. In particular, either the driver orpassenger system can be disabled if either the driver or passenger isout of position.

There is almost always a driver present in vehicles that are involved inaccidents where an airbag is needed. Only about 30% of these vehicles,however, have a passenger. If the passenger is not present, there isusually no need to deploy the passenger side airbag. The occupantposition sensor, when used for the passenger side with proper patternrecognition circuitry, can also ascertain whether or not the seat isoccupied, and if not, can disable the deployment of the passenger sideairbag and thereby save the cost of its replacement. A sophisticatedpattern recognition system could even distinguish between an occupantand a bag of groceries or a box, for example, which in some cargocontainer or truck trailer monitoring situations is desired. Finally,there has been much written about the out of position child who isstanding or otherwise positioned adjacent to the airbag, perhaps due topre-crash braking. The occupant position sensor described herein canprevent the deployment of the airbag in this situation.

3.1 Single Camera, Dual Camera with Single Light Source

Many automobile companies are opting to satisfy the requirements ofFMVSS-208 by using a weight only system such as the bladder or straingage systems disclosed here. Such a system provides an elementarymeasure of the weight of the occupying object but does not give areliable indication of its position, at least for automotive vehicles.It can also be easily confused by any object that weighs 60 or morepounds and that is interpreted as an adult. Weight only systems are alsostatic systems in that due to vehicle dynamics that frequently accompanya pre crash braking event they are unable to track the position of theoccupant. The load from seatbelts can confuse the system and therefore aspecial additional sensor must be used to measure seatbelt tension. Insome systems, the device must be calibrated for each vehicle and thereis some concern as to whether this calibration will be proper for thelife on the vehicle.

A single camera can frequently provide considerably more informationthan a weight only system without the disadvantages of weight sensorsand do so at a similar cost. Such a single camera in its simplestinstallation can categorize the occupancy state of the vehicle anddetermine whether the airbag should be suppressed due to an empty seator the presence of a child of a size that corresponds to one weighingless than 60 pounds. Of course, a single camera can also easily doconsiderably more by providing a static out-of-position indication and,with the incorporation of a faster processor, dynamic out-of-positiondetermination can also be provided. Thus, especially with the costs ofmicroprocessors continuing to drop, a single camera system can easilyprovide considerably more functionality than a weight only system andyet stay in the same price range.

A principal drawback of a single camera system is that it can be blockedby the hand of an occupant or by a newspaper, for example. This is arare event since the preferred mounting location for the camera istypically high in the vehicle such as on the headliner. Also, it isconsiderably less likely that the occupant will always be reading anewspaper, for example, and if he or she is not reading it when thesystem is first started up, or at any other time during the trip, thecamera system will still get an opportunity to see the occupant when heor she is not being blocked and make the proper categorization. Theability of the system to track the occupant will be impaired but thesystem can assume that the occupant has not moved toward the airbagwhile reading the newspaper and thus the initial position of theoccupant can be retained and used for suppression determination.Finally, the fact that the camera is blocked can be determined and thedriver made aware of this fact in much the same manner that a seatbeltlight notifies the driver that the passenger is not wearing his or herseatbelt.

The accuracy of a single camera system can be above 99% whichsignificantly exceeds the accuracy of weight only systems. Nevertheless,some automobile manufacturers desire even greater accuracy and thereforeopt for the addition of a second camera. Such a camera is usually placedon the opposite side of the occupant as the first camera. The firstcamera may be placed on or near the dome light, for example, and thesecond camera can be on the headliner above the side door. A dual camerasystem such as this can operate more accurately in bright daylightsituations where the window area needs to be ignored in the view of thecamera that is mounted near the dome.

Sometimes, in a dual camera system, only a single light source is used.This provides a known shadow pattern for the second camera and helps toaccentuate the edges of the occupying item rendering classificationeasier. Any of the forms of structured light can also be used andthrough these and other techniques the corresponding points in the twoimages can more easily be determined thus providing a three-dimensionalmodel of the occupant or occupying object in the case of other vehicletypes such as a cargo container or truck trailer.

As a result, the current assignee has developed a low cost single camerasystem which has been extensively tested for the most difficult problemof automobile occupant sensing but is nevertheless also applicable formonitoring of other vehicles such as cargo containers and trucktrailers. The automotive occupant position sensor system uses a CMOScamera in conjunction with pattern recognition algorithms for thediscrimination of out-of-position occupants and rear facing child safetyseats. A single imager, located strategically within the occupantcompartment, is coupled with an infrared LED that emits unfocused,wide-beam pulses toward the passenger volume. These pulses, whichreflect off of objects in the passenger seat and are captured by thecamera, contain information for classification and locationdetermination in approximately 10 msec. The decision algorithm processesthe returned information using a uniquely trained neural network, whichmay not be necessary in the simpler cargo container or truck trailermonitoring cases. The logic of the neural network was developed throughextensive in-vehicle training with thousands of realistic occupant sizeand position scenarios. Although the optical occupant position sensorcan be used in conjunction with other technologies (such as weightsensing, seat belt sensing, crash severity sensing, etc.), it is astand-alone system meeting the requirements of FMVSS-208. This devicewill be discussed in detail below.

3.2 Location of the Transducers

Any of the transducers discussed herein such as an active pixel or othercamera can be arranged in various locations in the vehicle including ina headliner, roof, ceiling, rear view mirror assembly, an A-pillar, aB-pillar and a C-pillar or a side wall or even a door in the case of acargo container or truck trailer. Images of the front seat area or therear seat area can be obtained by proper placement and orientation ofthe transducers such as cameras. The rear view mirror assembly can be agood location for a camera, particularly if it is attached to theportion of the mirror support that does not move when the occupant isadjusting the mirror. Cameras at this location can get a good view ofthe driver, passenger as well as the environment surrounding the vehicleand particularly in the front of the vehicle. It is an ideal locationfor automatic dimming headlight cameras.

4. Weight Measurement and Biometrics

One way to determine motion of the occupant(s) is to monitor the weightdistribution of the occupant whereby changes in weight distributionafter an accident would be highly suggestive of movement of theoccupant. A system for determining the weight distribution of theoccupants can be integrated or otherwise arranged in the seats 3 and 4of the vehicle and several patents and publications describe suchsystems.

More generally, any sensor that determines the presence and health stateof an occupant can also be integrated into the vehicle interiormonitoring system in accordance with the inventions herein. For example,a sensitive motion sensor can determine whether an occupant is breathingand a chemical sensor, such as accomplished using SAW technology, candetermine the amount of carbon dioxide, or the concentration of carbondioxide, in the air in the vehicle, which can be correlated to thehealth state of the occupant(s). The motion sensor and chemical sensorcan be designed to have a fixed operational field situated near theoccupant. In the alternative, the motion sensor and chemical sensor canbe adjustable and adapted to adjust their operational field inconjunction with a determination by an occupant position and locationsensor that would determine the location of specific parts of theoccupant's body such as his or her chest or mouth. Furthermore, anoccupant position and location sensor can be used to determine thelocation of the occupant's eyes and determine whether the occupant isconscious, that is, whether his or her eyes are open or closed ormoving.

Chemical sensors can also be used to detect whether there is bloodpresent in the vehicle such as after an accident. Additionally,microphones can detect whether there is noise in the vehicle caused bygroaning, yelling, etc., and transmit any such noise through thecellular or similar connection to a remote listening facility using atelematics communication system such as operated by OnStar™.

FIG. 2A shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the inventionincluding a system for determining the presence and health state of anyoccupants of the vehicle and a telecommunications link. This embodimentincludes means 150 for determining the presence of any occupants 151,which may take the form of a heartbeat sensor, chemical sensor or motionsensor as described above and means for determining the health state ofany occupants 151. The latter means may be integrated into the means fordetermining the presence of any occupants using the same or differentcomponent. The presence determining means 150 may encompass a dedicatedpresence determination device associated with each seating location inthe vehicle, or at least sufficient presence determination deviceshaving the ability to determine the presence of an occupant at eachseating location in the vehicle. Further, means for determining thelocation, and optionally velocity, of the occupants or one or more partsthereof 152 are provided and may be any conventional occupant positionsensor or preferably, one of the occupant position sensors as describedherein such as those utilizing waves such as electromagnetic radiationor fields such as capacitance sensors or as described in the currentassignee's patents and patent applications referenced above as well asherein.

A processor 153 is coupled to the presence determining means 150, thehealth state determining means 151 and the location determining means152. A communications unit 154 is coupled to the processor 153. Theprocessor 153 and/or communications unit 154 can also be coupled tomicrophones 158 that can be distributed throughout the vehicle passengercompartment and include voice-processing circuitry to enable theoccupant(s) to effect vocal control of the processor 153, communicationsunit 154 or any coupled component or oral communications via thecommunications unit 154. The processor 153 is also coupled to anothervehicular system, component or subsystem 155 and can issue controlcommands to effect adjustment of the operating conditions of the system,component or subsystem. Such a system, component or subsystem can be theheating or air-conditioning system, the entertainment system, anoccupant restraint device such as an airbag, a glare prevention system,etc. Also, a positioning system 156, such as a GPS or differential GPSsystem, could be coupled to the processor 153 and provides an indicationof the absolute position of the vehicle.

Pressure or weight sensors 7, 76 and 97 are also included in the systemshown in FIGS. 6 and 6A. Although strain gage-type sensors areschematically illustrated mounted to the supporting structure of theseat portion 4, and a bladder pressure sensor mounted in the seatportion 4, any other type of pressure or weight sensor can be usedincluding mat or butt spring sensors. Strain gage sensors are describedin detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701 as well as herein. Weight can beused to confirm the occupancy of the seat, i.e., the presence or absenceof an occupant as well as whether the seat is occupied by a light orheavy object. In the latter case, a measured weight of less than 60pounds is often determinative of the presence of a child seat whereas ameasured weight of greater than 60 pounds is often indicative of theabsence of a child seat. The weight sensors 7 can also be used todetermine the weight distribution of the occupant of the seat andthereby ascertain whether the occupant is moving and the position of theoccupant. As such, the weight sensors 7 could be used to confirm theposition and motion of the occupant. The measured pressure or weight ordistribution thereof can also be used in combination with the data fromthe transmitter/receiver assemblies 49, 50, 51, 52 and 54 of FIG. 8C toprovide an identification of the occupants in the seat.

As discussed below, weight can be measured both statically anddynamically. Static weight measurements require that the pressure orstrain gage system be accurately calibrated and care must be taken tocompensate for the effects of seatbelt load, aging, unwanted stresses inthe mounting structures, temperature etc. Dynamic measurements, on theother hand, can be used to measure the mass of an object on the seat,the presence of a seatbelt load and can be made insensitive to unwantedstatic stresses in the supporting members and to aging of the seat andits structure. In the simplest implementation, the natural frequency ofseat is determined due to the random vibrations or accelerations thatare input to the seat from the vehicle suspension system. In moresophisticated embodiments, an accelerometer and/or seatbelt tensionsensor is also used to more accurately determine the forces acting onthe occupant. In another embodiment, a vibrator can be used inconjunction with the seat to excite the seat occupying item either on atotal basis or on a local basis using PVDF film as an exciter and adetermination of the contact pattern of the occupant with the seatdetermined by the local response to the PVDF film. This latter methodusing the PVDF film or equivalent is closer to a pattern determinationrather than a true weight measurement.

Although many weight sensing systems are described herein, at least oneof the inventions disclosed herein is, among other things, directed tothe use of weight in any manner to determine the occupancy of a vehicle.Prior art mat sensors determined the occupancy through the butt print ofthe occupying item rather than actually measuring its weight. In an evenmore general sense, at least one of the inventions disclosed herein isthe use of any biometric measurement to determine vehicle occupancy.

As to the latter issue, when an occupant or object is strapped into theseat using a seatbelt, it can cause an artificial load on a bladder-typeweight sensor and/or strain gage-type weight sensors when the seatbeltanchorage points are not on the seat. The effects of seatbelt load canbe separated from the effects of object or occupant weight, as disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701, if the time-varying signals are consideredrather than merely using averaging to obtain the static load. If avehicle-mounted vertical accelerometer is present, then the forcingfunction on the seat caused by road roughness, steering maneuvers, andthe vehicle suspension system can be compared with the response of theseat as measured by the bladder or strain gage pressure or weightsensors. Through mathematical analysis, the magnitude of the bladderpressure or strain caused by seat belt loads can be separated frompressure and strain caused by occupant or object mass. Also, sinceanimated objects such as people cannot sit still indefinitely, suchoccupants can be distinguished from inanimate objects by similarlyobserving the change in pressure and strain distribution over time.

A serious problem that has plagued researchers attempting to adaptstrain gage technology to seat weight sensing arises from fact that atypical automobile seat is an over-determined structure containingindeterminate stresses and strains in the supporting structure. Thisarises from a variety of causes such as the connection between the seatstructure and the slide mechanisms below the seat or between the slidemechanisms and the floor which induces twisting and bending moments inthe seat structural members. Similarly, since most seats have fourattachment points and since only three points are necessary to determinea plane, there can be an unexpected distribution of compression andtensile stresses in the support structure. To complicate the situation,these indeterminable stresses and strains can vary as a function of seatposition and temperature. The combination of all of these effectsproduces a significant error in the calculation of the weight of anoccupying item and the distribution of this weight.

This problem can be solved by looking at changes in pressure and strainreadings in addition to the absolute values. The dynamic response of anoccupied seat is a function of the mass of the occupying item. As thecar travels down the road, a forcing function is provided to the seatwhich can be measured by the vertical acceleration component and otheracceleration components. This provides a method of measuring theresponse of the seat as well as the forcing function and therebydetermining the mass of occupying item.

For example, when an occupant first enters the vehicle and sits on aseat, the change in pressure and/or strain measurements will provide anaccurate measurement of the occupant's weight. This accuracydeteriorates as soon as the occupant attaches a seatbelt and/or movesthe seat to a new position. Nevertheless, the change in occupancy of theseat is a significant event that can be easily detected and if thechange in pressure and strain measurements are used as the measurementof the occupant weight, then the weight can be accurately determined.Similarly, the sequence of events for attaching a child seat to avehicle is one that can be easily discerned since the seat is firstplaced into the vehicle and the seat belt cinched followed by placingthe child in the seat or, alternately, the child and seat are placed inthe vehicle followed by a cinching of the seatbelt. Either of theseevent sequences gives a high probability of the occupancy being a childin a child seat. This decision can be confirmed by dynamicalmeasurements as described above.

A control system for controlling a component of the vehicle based onoccupancy of the seat in accordance with the invention may comprise aplurality of strain gages, or bladder chambers, mounted in connectionwith the seat, each measuring strain or pressure of a respectivelocation caused by occupancy of the seat, and a processor coupled to thestrain or pressure gages and arranged to determine the weight of anoccupying item based on the strain or pressure measurements from thestrain or pressure gages over a period of time, i.e., dynamicmeasurements. The processor controls the vehicle component based atleast in part on the determined weight of the occupying item of theseat. The processor can also determine motion of the occupying item ofthe seat based on the strain or pressure measurements from the strain orpressure gages over the period of time. One or more accelerometers maybe mounted on the vehicle for measuring acceleration in which case, theprocessor may control the component based at least in part on thedetermined weight of the occupying item of the seat and the accelerationmeasured by the accelerometer(s). (See the discussion below in referenceto FIG. 17.)

By comparing the output of various sensors in the vehicle, it ispossible to determine activities that are affecting parts of the vehiclewhile not affecting other parts. For example, by monitoring the verticalaccelerations of various parts of the vehicle and comparing theseaccelerations with the output of strain gage load cells placed on theseat support structure, or bladder sensors, a characterization can bemade of the occupancy of the seat. Not only can the weight of an objectoccupying the seat be determined, but also the gross motion of such anobject can be ascertained and thereby an assessment can be made as towhether the object is a life form such as a human being and whether theseatbelt is engaged. Strain gage weight sensors are disclosed, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701. In particular, the inventorscontemplate the combination of all of the ideas expressed in the '701patent with those expressed in the current invention.

Thus, the combination of the outputs from these accelerometer sensorsand the output of strain gage or bladder weight sensors in a vehicleseat, or in or on a support structure of the seat, can be used to makean accurate assessment of the occupancy of the seat and differentiatebetween animate and inanimate occupants as well as determining where inthe seat the occupants are sitting and whether the seatbelt is engaged.This can be done by observing the acceleration signals from the sensorsof FIG. 17 and simultaneously the dynamic strain gage measurements fromseat-mounted strain or pressure gages or pressure measurements ofbladder weight sensors. The accelerometers provide the input function tothe seat and the strain gages measure the reaction of the occupying itemto the vehicle acceleration and thereby provide a method of determiningdynamically the mass of the occupying item and its location. This isparticularly important during occupant position sensing during a crashevent. By combining the outputs of the accelerometers and the straingages and appropriately processing the same, the mass and weight of anobject occupying the seat can be determined as well as the gross motionof such an object so that an assessment can be made as to whether theobject is a life form such as a human being and whether a seatbelt isused and if so how tightly it is cinched.

Both strain gage and bladder weight sensors will be considered in detailbelow. There are of course several ways to process the accelerationsignal and the stain or pressure signal or any other weight measuringapparatus. In general, the dynamic load applied to the seat is measuredor a forcing function of the seat is measured, as a function of theacceleration signal. This represents the effect of the movement of thevehicle on the occupant which is reflected in the measurement of weightby the strain or pressure gages. Thus, the measurement obtained by thestrain or pressure gages can be considered to have two components, onecomponent resulting from the weight applied by the occupant in astationary state of the vehicle and the other arising or resulting fromthe movement of the vehicle. The vehicle-movement component can beseparated from the total strain or pressure gage measurement to providea more accurate indication of the weight of the occupant.

To provide a feeling for the implementation of at least one of theinventions disclosed herein, consider the following approximateanalysis.

To begin with, the seatbelt can be represented as a one-way spring inthat the force is high for upward motion and low for downward motion.This however introduces non-linearity into the analysis making an exactsolution difficult. Therefore for the purposes of this simplifiedanalysis, an assumption is made that the force from the seatbelt is thesame in both directions. Although the stiffness of the seat will varysignificantly from vehicle to vehicle, assume here that it is about 30kg per cm. Also assume that the input from the road is 1 Hz with amagnitude of 10 cm for the vertical motion of the vehicle wheels (axle)on the road. The motion of the seat will be much less due to the vehiclesuspension system.

The problem is to find is the weight of an occupant from the response ofthe seat (as measured by strain or pressure gages) to the roaddisplacement acting through the vehicle suspension. The intent here isonly to show that it is possible to determine the weight of the occupantand the use of a seatbelt by measuring the dynamic strain or pressuredue to the seat motion as a function of the weight of the occupant andthe seatbelt force. The functions and equations used below and thesolution to them can be implemented in a processor.

Looking now at FIG. 6B, suppose that point A (the point where a seatbeltis fixed to the seat) and point B are subjected to harmonicdisplacements u(t)=U₀ cos ωt caused by a car's vertical movements on theroad. As a result, springs modeling a seat and a seatbelt (theircorresponding stiffness are k_(s) and k_(sb)) affect a passenger mass mwith forces −k_(sb)(u−x) and k_(s)(u−x). (Minus in the first force istaken because the seatbelt spring contracts when the seat springstretches and vice versa). Under the action forces, the mass getsaccelerated d²x/dt², so the initial equation to be solved will be$\begin{matrix}{{m\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}x}{\mathbb{d}t^{2}}} = {{- {k_{sb}\left( {u - x} \right)}} + {{k_{s}\left( {u - x} \right)}.}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

This equation can be rewritten in the form $\begin{matrix}{{{m\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}x}{\mathbb{d}t^{2}}} + {\left( {k_{s} - k_{sb}} \right)x}} = {{u(t)}{\left( {k_{s} - k_{sb}} \right).}}} & (2) \\{{{m\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}x}{\mathbb{d}t^{2}}} + {\left( {k_{s} - k_{sb}} \right)x}} = {{U_{0}\left( {k_{s} - k_{sb}} \right)}\cos\quad\omega\quad t}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

This is a differential equation of a harmonic oscillator under action ofa harmonic external force f(t)=U₀(t)(k_(s)−k_(sb))cos ωt. If there is noseatbelt (k_(sb)=0), the solution of this equation in the case of aharmonic external force f(t)=F₀ cos ωt is well known [Strelkov S. P.Introduction in the theory of oscillations, Moscow, “Nauka”, 1964, p.56]: $\begin{matrix}{{{x(t)} = {{\frac{U_{0}}{\left( {1 - \frac{\omega^{2}}{\omega_{0}^{2}}} \right)}\cos\quad\omega\quad t} + {C_{1}\cos\quad\omega_{0}t} + {C_{2}\sin\quad\omega_{0}t}}},} & (4)\end{matrix}$

where the oscillator natural frequency. $\begin{matrix}{\omega_{0} = {\sqrt{\frac{k_{s}}{m}}.}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

The second and third terms in equation (4) describe natural oscillationsof the oscillator, which decay if there is any, even very small,friction in the system. Having assumed such small friction to bepresent, for steady forced oscillation, the equation is thus:$\begin{matrix}{{x(t)} = {\frac{U_{0}}{1 - \frac{\omega^{2}}{\omega_{0}^{2}}}\cos\quad\omega\quad{t.}}} & (6)\end{matrix}$

Thus, in steady mode the system oscillates with the external forcefrequency ω. Now, it is possible to calculate acceleration of the mass:$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}x}{\mathbb{d}t^{2}} = {{- \frac{\omega^{2}U_{0}}{1 - \frac{\omega^{2}}{\omega_{0}^{2}}}}\cos\quad\omega\quad t}},} & (7)\end{matrix}$

and the amplitude of the force acting in the system $\begin{matrix}{F_{m} = {{{m\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}x}{\mathbb{d}t^{2}}}} = {{{- \frac{m\quad\omega^{2}U_{0}}{1 - \frac{\omega^{2}}{\omega_{0}^{2}}}}}.}}} & (8)\end{matrix}$

In the situation where a seatbelt is present, it is not possible to usethe same formulae because the seatbelt stiffness is always greater thanstiffness of a seat, and (k_(s)−k_(sb))<0. Therefore, instead ofequation (3) we should consider the equation $\begin{matrix}{{{\frac{\mathbb{d}^{2}x}{\mathbb{d}t^{2}} - {\omega_{0}^{2}x}} = {{- \omega_{0}^{2}}U_{0}\cos\quad\omega\quad t}},} & (9)\end{matrix}$where ω₀ ²=|k_(s)−k_(sb)|/m>0. Following the same procedure (Strelkov S.P., ibid.), one can find a particular solution of inhomogeneous equation(9): $\begin{matrix}{{x(t)} = {\frac{U_{0}}{1 + \frac{\omega^{2}}{\omega_{0}^{2}}}\cos\quad\omega\quad{t.}}} & (10)\end{matrix}$

Then its general solution will be [as per Korn G. A., Korn T. M.Mathematical handbook for scientists and engineers. Russian translation:Moscow, “Nauka”, 1970, pp. 268-270]: $\begin{matrix}{{x(t)} = {{\frac{U_{0}}{\left( {1 + \frac{\omega^{2}}{\omega_{0}^{2}}} \right)}\cos\quad\omega\quad t} + {C_{1}\cos\quad\omega_{0}t} + {C_{2}\sin\quad\omega_{0}{t.}}}} & (11)\end{matrix}$

Thus, in a steady mode, the amplitude of the acting force is:$\begin{matrix}{{F_{m} = {{- \frac{m\quad\omega^{2}U_{0}}{1 + \frac{\omega^{2}}{\omega_{0}^{2}}}}}},} & (12)\end{matrix}$

and the natural frequency of the system is: $\begin{matrix}{\omega_{0} = {\sqrt{\frac{{k_{s} - k_{sb}}}{m}}.}} & (13)\end{matrix}$

Using the formulae (5), (8) (the “no seatbelt case”), (12) and (13) (the“seatbelt present case”), a table can be created as shown below. In thetable, p_(m) denotes amplitude of pressure acting on the seat surface.The initial data used in calculations are as follows:

-   -   k_(s)=30 Kg/cm=3×10⁴ N/m (the seat stiffness);    -   k_(sb)=600 N/0.3 cm=2×10⁵ N/m (the seatbelt stiffness);    -   U₀=0.1 m (the acting displacement amplitude);    -   f=1 Hz (the acting frequency).    -   s=0.05 m² (the seat surface square that the passenger acting        upon).

Naturally, where the frequency f=ω/2π, f₀ is natural frequency of thesystem. Columns “No seatbelt” is calculated when k_(sb)=0. No seatbeltThere is a seatbelt The passenger f₀, f₀, mass, kg Hz F_(m), N p_(m), PaHz F_(m), N p_(m), Pa 20 6.2 81.1 1.62 × 10³ 14.7 78.6 1.57 × 10³ 40 4.4166.7 3.33 × 10³ 10.4 156.5 3.13 × 10³ 60 3.6 257.2 5.14 × 10³ 8.5 233.64.67 × 10³ 100 2.8 454.6 9.09 × 10³ 6.6 385.8 7.72 × 10³

From the above table, it can be seen that there is a differentcombination of seat structure force (as can be measured by straingages), or pressure (as can be measured by a bladder and pressuresensor) and natural frequency for each combination of occupant weightand seatbelt use. Indeed, it can easily be seen that use of a seatbeltsignificantly affects the weight measurement of the weight sensors. Byusing the acceleration data, e.g., a forcing function, it is possible toeliminate the effect of the seatbelt and the road on the weightmeasurement. Thus, by observing the response of the seat plus occupantand knowing the input from the road, an estimate of the occupant weightand seatbelt use can be made without even knowing the static forces orpressures in the strain or pressure gages. By considering the dynamicresponse of the seat to road-induced input vibrations, the occupantweight and seatbelt use can be determined.

In an actual implementation, the above problem can be solved moreaccurately by using a pattern recognition system that compares thepattern of the seat plus occupant response (pressure or strain gagereadings) to the pattern of input accelerations. This can be donethrough the training of a neural network, modular neural network orother trainable pattern recognition system. Many other mathematicaltechniques can be used to solve this problem including varioussimulation methods where the coefficients of dynamical equations areestimated from the response of the seat and occupant to the inputacceleration. Thus, although the preferred implementation of the presentinvention is to use neural networks to solve this problem, the inventionis not limited thereby.

4.1 Strain Gage Weight Sensors

Referring now to FIG. 18A, which is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 18taken along line 18A-18A, seat 160 is constructed from a cushion or foamlayer 161 which is supported by a spring system 162 which is in contactand/or association with the displacement/deflection sensor system 163.As shown, displacement/deflection sensor system 163 is underneath thespring system 162 but this relative positioning is not a requiredfeature of the invention. The displacement/deflection sensor system 163comprises an elongate cable 164 retained at one end by support 165 and adisplacement sensor 166 situated at an opposite end. This displacementsensor 166 can be any of a variety of such devices including, but notlimited to, a linear rheostat, a linear variable differentialtransformer (LVDT), a linear variable capacitor, or any other lengthmeasuring device. Alternately, as shown in FIG. 18C, the cable can bereplaced with one or more springs 167 retained between supports 165 andthe tension in the spring(s) 167 measured using a strain gage(conventional wire, foil, silicon or a SAW strain gage) or other forcemeasuring device 168 or the strain in the seat support structure can bemeasured by appropriately placing strain gages on one or more of theseat supports as described in more detail below. The strain gage orother force measuring device could be arranged in association with thespring system 162 and could measure the deflection of the bottom surfaceof the cushion or foam layer 161.

When a SAW strain gage 168 is used as part of displacement/deflectionsensor system 163, an interrogator 169 could be placed on the vehicle toenable wireless communication and/or power transfer to the SAW straingage 168. As such, when it is desired to obtain the force being appliedby the occupying item on the seat, the interrogator 169 sends a radiosignal to the SAW strain gage causing it to transmit a return signalwith the measured strain of the spring 170. Interrogator 169 is coupledto the processor used to determine the control of the vehicle component.

As shown in FIG. 18D, one or more SAW strain gages 171 could also beplaced on the bottom surface or support pan 178 of the cushion or foamlayer 161 in order to measure the deflection of the bottom surface whichis representative of the weight of the occupying item on the seat or thepressure applied by the occupying item to the seat. An interrogator 169could also be used in this embodiment.

One seat design is illustrated in FIG. 18. Similar weight measurementsystems can be designed for other seat designs. Also, some products areavailable which can approximately measure weight based on pressuremeasurements made at or near the upper seat surface 172. It should benoted that the weight measured here will not be the entire weight of theoccupant since some of the occupant's weight will be supported by his orher feet which are resting on the floor or pedals. As noted above, theweight may also be measured by the weight sensor(s) 7, 76 and 97described above in the seated-state detecting unit.

As weight is placed on (pressure applied to) the seat surface 172, it issupported by spring system 162 which deflects downward causing cable 164of the displacement/deflection sensor system 163 to begin to stretchaxially. Using a LVDT as an example of length measuring device 166, thecable 164 pulls on rod 173 tending to remove rod 173 from its channel incylinder 174 (FIG. 18B). The movement of rod 173 out of its channel incylinder 174 is resisted by a spring 175, or other biasing mechanism,which returns the rod 173 into the cylinder 174 when the weight isremoved from the seat surface 172. The amount which the rod 173 isremoved from its channel in the cylinder 174 is measured by the amountof coupling between the windings 176 and 177 of the transformer as iswell understood by those skilled in the art. LVDT's are commerciallyavailable devices. In this matter, the deflection of the seat can bemeasured which is a measurement of the weight on the seat, i.e., thepressure applied by an occupying item to the seat surface. The exactrelationship between weight and LVDT output (or output from another typeof displacement sensor) is generally determined experimentally for thisapplication. The relationship is provided to the control module 254 towhich the displacement/deflection sensor system 163 is coupled, e.g.,prior to installation of the weight measuring system. Thus, if weight isone morphological characteristic being considered when the controlmodule 254 determines the classification or identity of an occupyingitem of a seat, the indication of weight obtained fromdisplacement/deflection sensor system 163 is provided to the controlmodule 254 to be used thereby, preferably in combination with anothermorphological characteristic such as height, to classify and/or identifythe occupying item.

SAW strain gages could also be used to determine the downward deflectionof the spring system 162 and the deflection of the cable 164.

By use of a combination of weight and height, the driver of the vehiclecan in general be positively identified among the class of drivers whooperate the vehicle. Thus, when a particular driver first uses thevehicle, the seat will be automatically adjusted to the proper position.If the driver changes that position within a prescribed time period, thenew seat position can be stored in the second table for the particulardriver's height and weight. When the driver reenters the vehicle and hisor her height and weight are again measured, the seat will go to thelocation specified in the second table if one exists. Otherwise, thelocation specified in the first table will be used. Naturally othermethods having similar end results can be used.

In a first embodiment of a weight measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 19,four strain gage weight sensors or transducers are used, two beingillustrated at 180 and 181 on one side of a bracket of the supportstructure of the seat and the other two being at the same locations onanother bracket of the support (i.e., hidden on the correspondinglocations on the other side of the support). The support structure ofthe seat supports the seat on a substrate such as a floor pan of thevehicle. Each of the strain gage transducers 180,181 also can containelectronic signal conditioning apparatus, e.g., amplifiers, analog todigital converters, filters etc., which is associated such that outputfrom the transducers is a digital signal. Such signal conditioningapparatus can also eliminate residual stresses in the transducerreadings that may be present from the manufacturing, assembly ormounting processes or due to seat motion or temperature. The electronicsignal travels from transducer 180 to transducer 181 through a wire 184.Similarly, wire 185 transmits the output from transducers 180 and 181 tothe next transducer in the sequence (one of the hidden transducers).Additionally, wire 186 carries the output from these three transducerstoward the fourth transducer (the other hidden transducer) and wire 187finally carries all four digital signals to an electronic control systemor module 188. These signals from the transducers 180, 181 are time,code or frequency division multiplexed as is well known in the art. Theseat position is controlled by motors 189 as described in detail in U.S.Pat. No. 5,179,576. Finally, the seat is bolted onto the supportstructure through bolts not shown which attach the seat through holes190 in the brackets.

By placing the signal conditioning electronics, analog to digitalconverters, and other appropriate electronic circuitry adjacent thestrain gage element, the four transducers can be daisy chained orotherwise attach together and only a single wire is required to connectall of the transducers to the control module 188 as well as provide thepower to run the transducers and their associated electronics.

The control system 188, e.g., a microprocessor, is arranged to receivethe digital signals from the transducers 180,181 and determine theweight of the occupying item of the seat based thereon. In other words,the signals from the transducers 180,181 are processed by the controlsystem 188 to provide an indication of the weight of the occupying itemof the seat, i.e., the pressure or force exerted by the occupying itemon the seat support structure.

A typical manually controlled seat structure is illustrated in FIG. 20and described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,545. The seat 191(only the frame of which is shown) is attached to a pair of slidemechanisms 192 in the rear thereof through support members such asrectangular tubular structures 193 angled between the seat 191 and theslide mechanisms 192. The front of the seat 191 is attached to thevehicle (more particularly to the floor pan) through another supportmember such as a slide member 194, which is engaged with a housing 195.Slide mechanisms 192, support members 193, slide member 194 and housing195 constitute the support structure for mounting the seat on asubstrate, i.e., the floor pan. Strain gage transducers are located forthis implementation at 180 and 182, strain gage transducer 180 beingmounted on each tubular structure 193 (only one of such strain gage isshown) and strain gage transducer 182 being mounted on slide member 194.

When an occupying item is situated on the seat cushion (not shown), eachof the support members 193 and 194 are deformed or strained. This strainis measured by transducers 180 and 182, respectively, to enable adetermination of the weight of the item occupying the seat, as can beunderstood by those skilled in the strain gage art. More specifically, acontrol system or module or other compatible processing unit (not shown)is coupled to the strain gage transducers 180, 182, e.g., via electricalwires (not shown), to receive the measured strain and utilize themeasured strain to determine the weight of the occupying item of theseat or the pressure applied by the occupying item to the seat. Thedetermined weight, or the raw measured strain, may be used to control avehicular component such as the airbag.

Support members 193 are substantially vertically oriented and arepreferably made of a sufficiently rigid, non-bending component.

FIG. 20A illustrates an alternate arrangement for the seat supportstructures wherein a gusset 196 has been added to bridge the angle onthe support member 193. Strain gage transducer 180 is placed on thisgusset 196. Since the gusset 196 is not a supporting member, it can bemade considerably thinner than the seat support member 193. As the seatis loaded by an occupying item, the seat support member 193 will bend.Since the gusset 196 is relatively weak, greater strain will occur inthe gusset 196 than in the support member 193. The existence of thisgreater strain permits more efficient use of the strain gage dynamicrange thus improving the accuracy of the weight measurement.

FIG. 20B illustrates a seat transverse support member 197 of the seatshown in FIG. 20, which is situated below the base cushion and extendsbetween opposed lateral sides of the seat. This support member 197 willbe directly loaded by the vehicle seat and thus will provide an averagemeasurement of the force exerted or weight of the occupying item. Thedeflection or strain in support member 197 is measured by a strain gagetransducer 180 mounted on the support member 197 for this purpose. Insome applications, the support member 197 will occupy the entire spacefore and aft below the seat cushion. Here it is shown as a relativelynarrow member. The strain gage transducer 180 is coupled, e.g., via anelectrical wire (not shown), to a control module or other processingunit (not shown) which utilizes the measured strain to determine theweight of the occupying item of the seat.

In FIG. 20, the support members 193 are shown as rectangular tubeshaving an end connected to the seat 191 and an opposite end connected tothe slide mechanisms 192. In the constructions shown in FIGS. 21A-21C,the rectangular tubular structure has been replaced by a circular tubewhere only the lower portion of the support is illustrated. FIGS.21A-21C show three alternate ways of improving the accuracy of thestrain gage system, i.e., the accuracy of the measurements of strain bythe strain gage transducers. Generally, a reduction in the stiffness ofthe support member to which the strain gage transducer is mounted willconcentrate the force and thereby improve the strain measurement. Thereare several means disclosed below to reduce the stiffness of the supportmember. These means are not exclusive and other ways to reduce thestiffness of the support member are included in the invention and theinterpretation of the claims.

In each illustrated embodiment, the transducer is represented by 180 andthe substantially vertically oriented support member corresponding tosupport member 193 in FIG. 20 has been labeled 193A. In FIG. 21A, thetube support member 193A has been cut to thereby form two separate tubeshaving longitudinally opposed ends and an additional tube section 198 isconnected, e.g., by welding, to end portions of the two tubes. In thismanner, a more accurate tube section 198 can be used to permit a moreaccurate measurement of the strain by transducer 180, which is mountedon tube section 198.

In FIG. 21B, a small circumferential cut has been made in tube supportmember 193A so that a region having a smaller circumference than aremaining portion of the tube support member 193A is formed. This cut isused to control the diameter of the tube support member 193A at thelocation where strain gage transducer 180 is measuring the strain. Inother words, the strain gage transducer 180 is placed at a portionwherein the diameter thereof is less than the diameter of remainingportions of the tube support member 193A. The purpose of this cut is tocorrect for manufacturing variations in the diameter of the tube supportmember 193A. The magnitude of the cut is selected so as to notsignificantly weaken the structural member but instead to control thediameter tolerance on the tube so that the strain from one vehicle toanother will be the same for a particular loading of the seat.

In FIG. 21C, a small hole 200 is made in the tube support member 193Aadjacent the transducer 180 to compensate for manufacturing toleranceson the tube support member 193A.

From this discussion, it can be seen that all three techniques have astheir primary purpose to increase the accuracy of the strain in thesupport member corresponding to weight on the vehicle seat. Thepreferred approach would be to control the manufacturing tolerances onthe support structure tubing so that the variation from vehicle tovehicle is minimized. For some applications where accurate measurementsof weight are desired, the seat structure will be designed to optimizethe ability to measure the strain in the support members and thereby tooptimize the measurement of the weight of the occupying item. Theinventions disclosed herein, therefore, are intended to cover the entireseat when the design of the seat is such as to be optimized for thepurpose of strain gage weight sensing and alternately for the seatstructure when it is so optimized.

Although strain measurement devices have been discussed above, pressuremeasurement systems can also be used in the seat support structure tomeasure the weight on the seat. Such a system is illustrated in FIG. 22.A general description of the operation of this apparatus is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,785,291. In that patent, the vehicle seat is attached tothe slide mechanism by means of bolts 201. Between the seat and theslide mechanism, a shock-absorbing washer has been used for each bolt.In the present invention, this shock-absorbing washer has been replacedby a sandwich construction consisting of two washers of shock absorbingmaterial 202 with a pressure sensitive material 203 sandwiched inbetween.

A variety of materials can be used for the pressure sensitive material203, which generally work on either the capacitance or resistive changeof the material as it is compressed. The wires from this material 203leading to the electronic control system are not shown in this view. Thepressure sensitive material 203 is coupled to the control system, e.g.,a microprocessor, and provides the control system with an indication ofthe pressure applied by the seat on the slide mechanism which is relatedto the weight of the occupying item of the seat. Generally, material 203is constructed with electrodes on the opposing faces such that as thematerial 202 is compressed, the spacing between the electrodes isdecreased. This spacing change thereby changes both the resistive andthe capacitance of the sandwich which can be measured and which is afunction of the compressive force on the material 202. Measurement ofthe change in capacitance of the sandwich, i.e., two spaced apartconductive members, is obtained by any method known to those skilled inthe art, e.g., connecting the electrodes in a circuit with a source ofalternating or direct current. The conductive members may be made of ametal. The use of such a pressure sensor is not limited to theillustrated embodiment wherein the shock absorbing material 202 andpressure sensitive material 203 are placed around bolt 201. It is alsonot limited to the use or incorporation of shock absorbing material inthe implementation.

FIG. 22A shows a substitute construction for the bolt 201 in FIG. 22 andwhich construction is preferably arranged in connection with the seatand the adjustment slide mechanism. A bolt-like member, hereinafterreferred to as a stud 204, is threaded 205 on both ends with a portionremaining unthreaded between the ends. A SAW strain measuring deviceincluding a SAW strain gage 206 and antenna 207 is arranged on thecenter unthreaded section of the stud 400 and the stud 400 is attachedat its ends to the seat and the slide mechanism using appropriatethreaded nuts. Based on the particular geometry of the SAW device used,the stud 400 can result in as little as a 3 mm upward displacement ofthe seat compared to a normal bolt mounting system. No wires arerequired to attach the SAW device to the stud 204. The total length ofstud 204 may be as little as 1 inch. Antennas larger than one inch maybe required depending on the frequency and antenna technology used andother considerations.

In operation, an interrogator 208 transmits a radio frequency pulse atfor example, 925 MHz, which excites the antenna 207 associated with theSAW strain gage 206. After a delay caused by the time required for thewave to travel the length of the SAW device, a modified wave isre-transmitted to the interrogator 208 providing an indication of thestrain and thus a representative value of the weight of an objectoccupying the seat. For a seat which is normally bolted to the slidemechanism with four bolts, at least four SAW strain measuring devices orsensors would be used. Each conventional bolt could thus be replaced bya stud as described above. Since the individual SAW devices are verysmall, multiple such SAW devices can be placed on the stud to providemultiple redundant measurements or to permit the stud to be arbitrarilylocated with at least one SAW device always within direct view of theinterrogator antenna. Note that if quarter wave dipole antennas areused, they may be larger than the strain gage and may in that case needto be mounted to the seat bottom, for example, or some other convenientplace. This, however, will also make it easier to align the antennaswith the interrogator antenna.

To avoid potential problems with electromagnetic interference, the stud204 may be made of a non-metallic, possibly composite, material whichwould not likely cause or contribute to any possible electromagneticwave interference. The stud 204 could also be modified for use as anantenna.

If the seat is unoccupied, then the interrogation frequency can besubstantially reduced in comparison to when the seat is occupied. For anoccupied seat, information as to the identity and/or category andposition of an occupying item of the seat can be obtained through theuse of multiple weight sensors. For this reason, and due to the factthat during pre-crash event the position of an occupying item of theseat may be changing rapidly, interrogations as frequently as once every10 milliseconds or even faster can be desirable. This would also enablea distribution of the weight being applied to the seat being obtainedwhich provides an estimation of the position of the object occupying theseat. Using pattern recognition technology, e.g., a trained neuralnetwork, sensor fusion, fuzzy logic, etc., the identification of theobject can be ascertained based on the determined weight and/ordetermined weight distribution.

Although each of the SAW devices can be interrogated and/or poweredusing wireless means, in some cases, it may be desirable to supply powerto and or obtained information from such devices using wires. Also,strain gage coupled to circuits employing RFID type technology (noon-board power) can also result in a wireless interrogation system.Additionally, energy harvesting techniques can be used to generate thepower required. Conventional strain gages can also be used.

In FIG. 23, which is a view of a seat attachment structure described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,531,503, a more conventional strain gage load celldesign designated 209 is utilized. One such load cell design 209 isillustrated in detail in FIG. 23A.

A cantilevered beam load cell design using a half bridge strain gagesystem 209 is shown in FIG. 23A. Fixed resistors mounted within theelectronic package, which are not shown in this drawing, provide theremainder of the whetstone bridge system. The half bridge system isfrequently used for economic reasons and where some sacrifice inaccuracy is permissible. The load cell 209 includes a member 211 onwhich the strain gage 210 is situated. The strain gage assembly 209includes strain-measuring elements 212 and 213 arranged on the loadcell. The longitudinal element 212 measures the tensile strain in thebeam when it is loaded by the seat and its contents, not shown, which isattached to end 215 of bolt 214. The load cell is mounted to the vehicleor other substrate using bolt 217. Temperature compensation is achievedin this system since the resistance change in strain elements 212 and213 will vary the same amount with temperature and thus the voltageacross the portions of the half bridge will remain the same. The straingage 209 is coupled to a control system (e.g., a microprocessor—notshown) via wires 216 and receives the measured tensile strain anddetermines the weight of an occupying item of the seat based thereon.

One problem with using a cantilevered load cell is that it imparts atorque to the member on which it is mounted. One preferred mountingmember on an automobile is the floor-pan which will support significantvertical loads but is poor at resisting torques since floor-pans aretypically about 1 mm (0.04 inches) thick. This problem can be overcomethrough the use of a simply supported load cell design designated 220 asshown in FIG. 23B.

In FIGS. 23B and 23C, a full bridge strain gage system 221 is used withall four elements 222, 223 mounted on the top of a beam 240. Elements222 are mounted parallel to the beam 240 and elements 223 are mountedperpendicular to it. Since the maximum strain is in the middle of thebeam 240, strain gage 221 is mounted close to that location. The loadcell, shown generally as 220, is supported by the floor pan, not shown,at supports 234 that are formed by bending the beam 240 downward at itsends. Fasteners 228 fit through holes 229 in the beam 240 and serve tohold the load cell 220 to the floor pan without putting significantforces on the load cell 220. Holes are provided in the floor-pan for abolt 231 and for fasteners 228. Bolt 231 is attached to the load cell220 through hole 230 of the beam 240 which serves to transfer the forcefrom the seat to the load cell 220 Although this design would place theload cell 220 between the slide mechanism and the floor, in manyapplications it would be placed between the seat and the slidemechanism. In the first case, the evaluation algorithm may also requirea seat position input if the weight distribution is to be determined.

The electronics package can be potted within hole 235 using urethanepotting compound 232 and can include signal conditioning circuits, amicroprocessor with integral ADCs 226 and a flex circuit 225 (FIG. 23C).The flex circuit 225 terminates at an electrical connector 233 forconnection to other vehicle electronics, e.g., a control system. Thebeam 240 is slightly tapered at location 227 so that the strain isconstant in the strain gage.

Although thus far only beam-type load cells have been described, othergeometries can also be used. One such geometry is a tubular type loadcell. Such a tubular load cell is shown generally at 241 in FIG. 23D andinstead of an elongate beam, it includes a tube. It also comprises aplurality of strain sensing elements 242 for measuring tensile andcompressive strains in the tube as well as other elements, not shown,which are placed perpendicular to the elements 242 to provide fortemperature compensation. Temperature compensation is achieved in thismanner, as is well known to those skilled in the art of the use ofstrain gages in conjunction with a whetstone bridge circuit, sincetemperature changes will affect each of the strain gage elementsidentically and the total effect thus cancels out in the circuit. Thesame bolt 243 can be used in this case for mounting the load cell to thefloor-pan and for attaching the seat to the load cell.

Another alternate load cell design shown generally in FIG. 23E as 242makes use of a torsion bar 243 and appropriately placed torsional strainsensing elements 244. A torque is imparted to the bar 243 by means oflever 245 and bolt 246 which attaches to the seat structure not shown.Bolts 247 attach the mounting blocks 248 at ends of the torsion bar 243to the vehicle floor-pan.

The load cells illustrated above are all preferably of the foil straingage-type. Other types of strain gages exist which would work equallywell which include wire strain gages and strain gages made from silicon.Silicon strain gages have the advantage of having a much larger gagefactor and the disadvantage of greater temperature effects. For thehigh-volume implementation of at least one of the inventions disclosedherein, silicon strain gages have an advantage in that the electroniccircuitry (signal conditioning, ADCs, etc.) can be integrated with thestrain gage for a low cost package.

Other strain gage materials and load cell designs may, of course, beincorporated within the teachings of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein. In particular, a surface acoustical wave (SAW) straingage can be used in place of conventional wire, foil or silicon straingages and the strain measured either wirelessly or by a wire connection.For SAW strain gages, the electronic signal conditioning can beassociated directly with the gage or remotely in an electronic controlmodule as desired. For SAW strain gages, the problems discussed abovewith low signal levels requiring bridge structures and the methods fortemperature compensation may not apply. Generally, SAW strain gages aremore accurate that other technologies but may require a separate sensorto measure the temperature for temperature compensation depending on thematerial used. Materials that can be considered for SAW strain gages arequartz, lithium niobate, lead zirconate, lead titanate, zinc oxide,polyvinylidene fluoride and other piezoelectric materials.

Many seat designs have four attachment points for the seat structure toattach to the vehicle. Since the plane of attachment is determined bythree points, the potential exists for a significant uncertainty orerror to be introduced. This problem can be compounded by the method ofattachment of the seat to the vehicle. Some attachment methods usingbolts, for example, can introduce significant strain in the seatsupporting structure. Some compliance therefore should be introducedinto the seat structure to reduce these attachment-induced stresses to aminimum. Too much compliance, on the other hand, can significantlyweaken the seat structure and thereby potentially cause a safety issue.This problem can be solved by rendering the compliance section of theseat structure highly nonlinear or significantly limiting the range ofthe compliance. One of the support members, for example, can be attachedto the top of the seat structure through the use of the pinned jointwherein the angular rotation of the joint is severely limited. Methodswill now be obvious to those skilled in the art to eliminate theattachment-induced stress and strain in the structure which can causeinaccuracies in the strain measuring system.

In the examples illustrated above, strain measuring elements have beenshown at each of the support members. This of course is necessary if ahighly accurate measurement of the weight of the occupying item of theseat is to be determined. For this case, typically a single value isinputted into the neural network representing weight. Experiments haveshown, however, for the four strain gage transducer system, that most ofthe weight and thus most of the strain occurs in the strain elementsmounted on the rear seat support structural members. In fact, about 85percent of the load is typically carried by the rear supports. Littleaccuracy is lost therefore if the forward strain measuring elements areeliminated. Similarly, for most cases, the two rear-mounted supportstrain elements measure approximately the same strain. Thus, theinformation represented by the strain in one rear seat support issufficient to provide a reasonably accurate measurement of the weight ofthe occupying item of the seat. Thus, at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein can be implemented using one or more load cells orstrain gages. As disclosed elsewhere herein, other sensors, such asoccupant position sensors based on spatial monitoring technologies, canbe used in conjunction with one or more load cells or other pressure orweight sensors to augment and improve the accuracy of the system. Asimple position sensor mounted in the seat back or headrest, forexample, as illustrated at 354-365 in FIGS. 18, 24 and 25 can be used.

In view of the foregoing, one embodiment of a weight measuring ordetermining system in accordance with the invention can be implementedwith only a single strain gage or other type of force or pressure sensorsituated on a single rear seat support member. Typically, the seatsupport structure includes two rear support members and either a singleforward support member (see FIG. 20) or a pair of forward supportmembers (see FIG. 23). Thus, for example, a single strain gage sensorwould be arranged on only one of the rear support members (with theother support members not having any strain gage sensors or other typeof force or pressure sensors).

On the other hand, an embodiment is also possible wherein both rearsupport members include a strain gage sensor arranged in connectiontherewith, while any forward seat support members do not include straingage sensors or other type of force or pressure sensors). For example,in the embodiment of FIG. 23, the rearward support members would includea strain gage 209 whereas the forward support members would not. In thiscase, as noted above, the strain gage sensors will likely measureapproximate the same strain (which is based on the assumption that theweight of the occupying item is being distributed evenly to both sidesof the frame of the seat and thus to the support structure supportingthe seat frame on the floor pan).

It is also conceivable that only one or more of the forward seat supportmembers includes a force or pressure sensor while any rear supportmembers do not. In this case, if a single forward support member isprovided (FIG. 20), a strain gage sensor would be arranged thereon withthe rear support members not having any strain gage sensors or othertype of force or pressure sensors. Similarly, if two forward supportmembers are provided (FIG. 23), both forward support members wouldinclude a strain gage sensor arranged in connection therewith, while anyrearward seat support members would not include strain gage sensors orother type of force or pressure sensors.

To implement this concept in the embodiment of FIG. 19 wherein brackets184, 186 are coupled to the movable part of the slide mechanisms,several options are possible: providing only a single strain gage sensoror other force or pressure sensor at the rearward part of one of thebrackets 184 or 186, providing only a strain gage sensor or other forceor pressure sensor at the rearward part of each of the brackets 184,186, providing only a single strain gage sensor or other force orpressure sensor at the forward part of one of the brackets 184 or 186,and providing only a strain gage sensor or other force or pressuresensor at the forward part of each of the brackets 184, 186.

Common to the various embodiments described above using less than theusual four sensors positioned at the corners below the frame of the seatis that fewer sensors are required while maintaining a high level ofaccuracy in the determination of the weight of the occupying item of theseat. Positioning one or more sensors either at the forward part of theseat support structure or at the rearward part of the seat supportstructure provides sufficiently accurate data which enables adetermination of the weight of the occupying item of the seat.

The optimum location(s) at which to position the sensors can bedetermined using the adaptation technique discussed below, i.e.,providing all four sensors, conducting tests with different weightedoccupying items, obtaining readings from the sensors, correlating thereadings to the actual weight of the occupying item, and then performingthe same series of stages with different combinations of sensors. Thatis, each forward or rearward sensor can be placed alone and four suchtesting stages conducted, and then an additional two testing stagesconducted, one with both forward sensors and then one with both rearwardsensors. The accuracy of these six tests is compared to the accuracywhen all four sensors are used to determine which arrangement of sensors(an arrangement of less than four, one at each corner of the seat frame)provides the highest degree of accuracy. The tests can be conducted withadditional input from various sensors as described below, e.g., theseatback angle sensor and/or the seat track position sensor.Additionally, data from an accelerometer can be used.

When determining the weight of an occupying item of a seat using anarrangement of four or fewer sensors arranged in connection with theseat support structure, data from various sensors can be input into aprocessor which determines the weight of the occupying item. Suchsensors include a seatback angle sensor which measures the angle betweenthe bottom portion of the seat and the back portion of the seat and aseat track position sensor which measures the relative position of thebottom portion to the substrate, i.e., the relative position between amovable part of a slide mechanism which is typically connected to thebottom portion of the seat and a fixed part of the slide mechanism whichis typically connected to the floor pan of the vehicle. Additionally,data from an accelerometer, e.g., a vertical accelerometer, can be used.

It is also important to recognize that the weight being measured by anyforce or pressure sensors arranged in connection with the seat supportstructure will invariably not be the entire weight of the occupying itemof the seat. Rather, it will be a partial weight determination, e.g.,for a human occupant, the measured or determined weight will be that ofthe portion above the bottom portion of the seat, namely the weight ofthe torso and head.

If a system consisting of eight transducers is considered, fourultrasonic transducers and four weight transducers, and if costconsiderations require the choice of a smaller total number oftransducers, it is a question of which of the eight transducers shouldbe eliminated. Fortunately, the neural network technology provides atechnique for determining which of the eight transducers is mostimportant, which is next most important, etc. If the six most criticaltransducers are chosen, that is the six transducers which contain themost useful information as determined by the neural network, a neuralnetwork can be trained using data from those six transducers and theoverall accuracy of the system can be determined. Experience hasdetermined, for example, that typically there is almost no loss inaccuracy by eliminating two of the eight transducers, that is two of thestrain gage weight sensors. A slight loss of accuracy occurs when one ofthe ultrasonic transducers is then eliminated.

This same technique can be used with the additional transducersdescribed above. A transducer space can be determined with perhapstwenty different transducers comprised of ultrasonic, optical,electromagnetic, motion, heartbeat, weight, seat track, seatbelt payout,seatback angle etc. transducers. The neural network can then be used inconjunction with a cost function to determine the cost of systemaccuracy. In this manner, the optimum combination of any system cost andaccuracy level can be determined.

In many situations where the four strain measuring weight sensors areapplied to the vehicle seat structure, the distribution of the weightamong the four strain gage sensors, for example, will vary significantlydepending on the position of the seat in the vehicle, and particularlythe fore and aft location, and secondarily, the seatback angle position.A significant improvement to the accuracy of the strain gage weightsensors, particularly if less than four such sensors are used, canresult by using information from a seat track position and/or a seatbackangle sensor. In many vehicles, such sensors already exist and thereforethe incorporation of this information results in little additional costto the system and results in significant improvements in the accuracy ofthe weight sensors.

There have been attempts to use seat weight sensors to determine theload distribution of the occupying item and thereby reach a conclusionabout the state of seat occupancy. For example, if a forward facinghuman is out of position, the weight distribution on the seat will bedifferent than if the occupant is in position. Similarly, a rear facingchild seat will have a different weight distribution than a forwardfacing child seat. This information is useful for determining the seatedstate of the occupying item under static or slowly changing conditions.For example, even when the vehicle is traveling on moderately roughroads, a long term averaging or filtering technique can be used todetermine the total weight and weight distribution of the occupyingitem. Thus, this information can be useful in differentiating between aforward facing and rear facing child seat.

It is much less useful however for the case of a forward facing human orforward facing child seat that becomes out of position during a crash.Panic braking prior to a crash, particularly on a rough road surface,will cause dramatic fluctuations in the output of the strain sensingelements. Filtering algorithms, which require a significant time sliceof data, will also not be particularly useful. A neural network or otherpattern recognition system, however, can be trained to recognize suchsituations and provide useful information to improve system accuracy.

Other dynamical techniques can also provide useful informationespecially if combined with data from the vehicle crash accelerometer.By studying the average weight over a few cycles, as measured by eachtransducer independently, a determination can be made that the weightdistribution is changing. Depending on the magnitude of the change, adetermination can be made as to whether the occupant is being restrainedby a seatbelt. If a seatbelt restraint is not being used, the outputfrom the crash accelerometer can be used to accurately project theposition of the occupant during pre-crash braking and eventually theimpact itself providing his or her initial position is known.

In this manner, a weight sensor with provides weight distributioninformation can provide useful information to improve the accuracy ofthe occupant position sensing system for dynamic out of positiondetermination. Even without the weight sensor information, the use ofthe vehicle crash sensor data in conjunction with any means ofdetermining the belted state of the occupant will dramatically improvethe dynamic determination of the position of a vehicle occupant. The useof the dynamics of the occupant to measure weight dynamically isdisclosed in the current assignee's U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/174,803 filed Jun. 19, 2002.

Strain gage weight sensors can also be mounted in other locations suchas within a cavity within a seat cushion as shown as 97 in FIG. 6A anddescribed above. The strain gage can be mounted on a flexible diaphragmthat flexes and thereby strains the strain gage as the seat is loaded.In the example of FIG. 6A, a single chamber 98, diaphragm and straingage 97 is illustrated. A plurality of such chambers can be used toprovide a distribution of the load on the occupying item onto the seat.

There are several applications for weight or load measuring devices in avehicle including the vehicle suspension system and seat weight sensorsfor use with automobile safety systems. As reported in U.S. Pat. No.4,096,740, U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,813, U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,571, U.S. Pat.No. 5,663,531, U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,425 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,647 andInternational Publication No. WO 00/65320(A1), SAW devices areappropriate candidates for such weight measurement systems. In thiscase, the surface acoustic wave on the lithium niobate, or otherpiezoelectric material, is modified in delay time, resonant frequency,amplitude and/or phase based on strain of the member upon which the SAWdevice is mounted. For example, the conventional bolt that is typicallyused to connect the passenger seat to the seat adjustment slidemechanism can be replaced with a stud which is threaded on both ends. ASAW strain device is mounted to the center unthreaded section of thestud and the stud is attached to both the seat and the slide mechanismusing appropriate threaded nuts. Based on the particular geometry of theSAW device used, the stud can result in as little as a 3 mm upwarddisplacement of the seat compared to a normal bolt mounting system. Nowires are required to attach the SAW device to the stud. Theinterrogator transmits a radio frequency pulse at, for example, 925 MHz,that excites antenna on the SAW strain measuring system. After a delaycaused by the time required for the wave to travel the length of the SAWdevice, a modified wave is re-transmitted to the interrogator providingan indication of the strain of the stud with the weight of an objectoccupying the seat corresponding to the strain. For a seat that isnormally bolted to the slide mechanism with four bolts, at least fourSAW strain sensors would be used. Since the individual SAW devices canbe small, multiple devices can be placed on a stud to provide multipleredundant measurements, or permit bending strains to be determined,and/or to permit the stud to be arbitrarily located with at least oneSAW device always within direct view of the interrogator antenna. Insome cases, the bolt or stud will be made on non-conductive material tolimit the blockage of the RF signal. In other cases, it will beinsulated from the slide (mechanism) and used as an antenna.

If two longitudinally spaced apart antennas are used to receive the SAWtransmissions from the seat weight sensors, one antenna in front of theseat and the other behind the seat, then the position of the seat can bedetermined eliminating the need for current seat position sensors. Asimilar system can be used for other seat and seatback positionmeasurements.

For strain gage weight sensing, the frequency of interrogation would beconsiderably higher than that of the tire monitor, for example. However,if the seat is unoccupied, then the frequency of interrogation can besubstantially reduced. For an occupied seat, information as to theidentity and/or category and position of an occupying item of the seatcan be obtained through the multiple weight sensors described. For thisreason, and due to the fact that during the pre-crash event, theposition of an occupying item of the seat may be changing rapidly,interrogations as frequently as once every 10 milliseconds or faster canbe desirable. This would also enable a distribution of the weight beingapplied to the seat to be obtained which provides an estimation of theposition of the object occupying the seat. Using pattern recognitiontechnology, e.g., a trained neural network, sensor fusion, fuzzy logic,etc., the identification of the object can be ascertained based on thedetermined weight and/or determined weight distribution.

There are many other methods by which SAW devices can be used todetermine the weight and/or weight distribution of an occupying itemother than the methods described above and all such uses of SAW strainsensors for determining the weight and weight distribution of anoccupant are contemplated. For example, SAW devices with appropriatestraps can be used to measure the deflection of the seat cushion top orbottom caused by an occupying item, or if placed on the seat belts, theload on the belts can determined wirelessly and powerlessly. Geometriessimilar to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,701 (which disclosesmultiple strain gage geometries) using SAW strain-measuring devices canalso be constructed, e.g., any of the multiple strain gage geometriesshown therein.

Although a preferred method for using the invention is to interrogateeach of the SAW devices using wireless means, in some cases it may bedesirable to supply power to and/or obtain information from one or moreof the devices using wires. As such, the wires would be an optionalfeature.

One advantage of the weight sensors of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein along with the geometries disclosed in the '701 patentand herein below, is that in addition to the axial stress in the seatsupport, the bending moments in the structure can be readily determined.For example, if a seat is supported by four “legs”, it is possible todetermine the state of stress, assuming that axial twisting can beignored, using four strain gages on each leg support for a total ofsixteen such gages. If the seat is supported by three legs, then thiscan be reduced to twelve. Naturally, a three-legged support ispreferable than four since with four, the seat support isover-determined severely complicating the determination of the stresscaused by an object on the seat. Even with three supports, stresses canbe introduced depending on the nature of the support at the seat railsor other floor-mounted supporting structure. If simple supports are usedthat do not introduce bending moments into the structure, then thenumber of gages per seat can be reduced to three providing a good modelof the seat structure is available. Unfortunately, this is usually notthe case and most seats have four supports and the attachments to thevehicle not only introduce bending moments into the structure but thesemoments vary from one position to another and with temperature. The SAWstrain gages of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein lendthemselves to the placement of multiple gages onto each support asneeded to approximately determine the state of stress and thus theweight of the occupant depending on the particular vehicle application.Furthermore, the wireless nature of these gages greatly simplifies theplacement of such gages at those locations that are most appropriate.

One additional point should be mentioned. In many cases, thedetermination of the weight of an occupant from the static strain gagereadings yields inaccurate results due to the indeterminate stress statein the support structure. However, the dynamic stresses to a first orderare independent of the residual stress state. Thus, the change in stressthat occurs as a vehicle travels down a roadway caused by dips in theroadway can provide an accurate measurement of the weight of an objectin a seat. This is especially true if an accelerometer is used tomeasure the vertical excitation provided to the seat.

4.2 Bladder Weight Sensors

One embodiment of a weight sensor and method for determining the weightof an occupant of a seat, which may be used in the methods and apparatusfor adjusting a vehicle component and identifying an occupant of a seat,comprises a bladder having at least one chamber adapted to be arrangedin a seat portion of the seat, and at least one transducer for measuringthe pressure in a respective chamber. The bladder may comprise aplurality of chambers, each adapted to be arranged at a differentlocation in the seat portion of the seat. Thus, it is possible todetermine the weight distribution of the occupant using this weightsensor with several transducers whereby each transducer is associatedwith one chamber and the weight distribution of the occupant is obtainedfrom the pressure measurements of the transducers. The position of theoccupant and the center of gravity of the occupant can also bedetermined by one skilled in the art based on the weight distribution.

With knowledge of the weight of an occupant, additional improvements canbe made to automobile and truck seat designs. In particular, thestiffness of the seat can be adjusted so as to provide the same level ofcomfort for light and for heavy occupants. The damping of occupantmotions, which previously has been largely neglected, can also bereadily adjusted as shown on FIG. 25 which is a view of the seat of FIG.24 showing one of several possible arrangements for changing thestiffness and the damping of the seat. In the seat bottom 250, there isa container 251, the conventional foam and spring design has beenreplaced by an inflated rectangular container very much like an airmattress which contains a cylindrical inner container 252 which isfilled with an open cell urethane foam, for example, or other meanswhich constrain the flow of air therein. An adjustable orifice 253connects the two containers both of which can be bladders 251, 252 sothat air, or other fluid, can flow in a controlled manner therebetween.The amount of opening of orifice 253 is controlled by control circuit254. A small air compressor, or fluid pump, 255 controls the pressure incontainer 251 under control of the control circuit 254. A pressuretransducer 256 monitors the pressure within container 251 and inputsthis information into control circuit 254.

The operation of the system is as follows. When an occupant sits on theseat, pressure initially builds up in the seat container or bladder 251which gives an accurate measurement of the weight of the occupant.Control circuit 254, using an algorithm and a microprocessor, thendetermines an appropriate stiffness for the seat and adds pressure toachieve that stiffness. The pressure equalizes between the twocontainers 251 and 252 through the flow of fluid through orifice 253.Control circuit 254 also determines an appropriate damping for theoccupant and adjusts the orifice 253 to achieve that damping. As thevehicle travels down the road and the road roughness causes the seat tomove up and down, the inertial force on the seat by the occupant causesthe fluid pressure to rise and fall in container 252 and also, but, muchless so, in container 251 since the occupant sits mainly above container252 and container 251 is much larger than container 252. The majordeflection in the seat takes place first in container 252 whichpressurizes and transfers fluid to container 251 through orifice 253.The size of the orifice opening determines the flow rate between the twocontainers 251, 252 and therefore the damping of the motion of theoccupant. Since this opening is controlled by control circuit 254, theamount of damping can thereby also be controlled. Thus, in this simplestructure, both the stiffness and damping can be controlled to optimizethe seat for a particular driver. Naturally, if the driver does not likethe settings made by control circuit 254, he or she can change them toprovide a stiffer or softer ride. When fluid is used above, it can meana gas, liquid, gel or other flowable medium.

The stiffness of a seat is the change in force divided by the change indeflection. This is important for many reasons, one of which is that itcontrols the natural vibration frequency of the seat occupantcombination. It is important that this be different from the frequencyof vibrations which are transmitted to the seat from the vehicle inorder to minimize the up and down motions of the occupant. The dampingis a force which opposes the motion of the occupant and which isdependent on the velocity of relative motion between the occupant andthe seat bottom. It thus removes energy and minimizes the oscillatorymotion of the occupant. These factors are especially important in truckswhere the vibratory motions of the driver's seat, and thus the driver,have caused many serious back injuries among truck drivers.

In FIG. 25, the airbag or bladder 251 which interacts with the occupantis shown with a single chamber. Naturally, bladder 251 can be composedof multiple cells or chambers 252 a, 252 b, 252 c, and 252 d as shown inFIG. 25A. The use of multiple chambers permits the weight distributionof the occupant to be determined if a separate pressure transducer isused in each cell or chamber of the bladder 251, or if a single gage isswitched from chamber to chamber. Such a scheme gives the opportunity ofdetermining to some extent the position of the occupant on the seat orat least the position of the center of gravity of the occupant.Naturally, more than four chambers can be used.

As shown in FIG. 25, each chamber 252 a, 252 b, 252 c, and 252 d has anenclosed interior space which is separate and apart from the interiorspace of any other of the chambers 252 a, 252 b, 252 c, and 252 d. Eachchamber 252 a, 252 b, 252 c, and 252 d may have an opening in which apressure transducer is arranged. All of the chambers 252 a, 252 b, 252c, and 252 d can be arranged within the fluid-receiving interior of thecontainer 251.

Keeping with the disclosure above of arranging force or pressure sensorsonly at the rear of the seat or only at the front of the seat, this canbe implemented with bladder sensors as well. That is, a seat could beconstructed in accordance with the invention with only one or morechambers at the rear of the bottom portion of the seat (chamber 252 band/or chamber 252 d) or with only one or more chambers at the front ofthe bottom portion of the seat (chamber 252 a and/or chamber 252 c).

Any one of a number of known pressure measuring sensors can be used withthe bladder weight sensor disclosed herein. One particular technologythat has been developed for measuring the pressure in a rotating tireuses surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology and has the advantage thatthe sensor is wireless and powerless. Thus, the sensor does not need abattery nor is it required to run wires from the sensor to controlcircuitry. An interrogator is provided that transmits an RF signal tothe sensor and receives a return signal that contains the temperatureand pressure of the fluid within the bladder. The interrogator can bethe same one that is used for tire pressure monitoring thus making thisSAW system very inexpensive to implement and easily expandable toseveral seats within the vehicle. The switches that control the seat canalso now be made wireless using SAW technology and thus they can beplaced at any convenient location such as the vehicle door-mountedarmrest without requiring wires to connect the switch to the seatmotors. Other uses of SAW technology are discussed in the currentassignee's U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,642. Although a SAW device has beendescribed above, an equivalent system can be constructed using RFID typetechnology where the interrogator transmits sufficient RF energy topower the RFID circuit. This generally requires that the interrogatorantenna be closer to the device antenna than in the case of SAW devicesbut the interrogator circuitry is generally simpler and thus lessexpensive. Also energy harvesting can also be used to provide energy torun the RFID circuit or to boost the SAW circuit.

In the description above, the air is the preferred use as the fluid tofill the bladder 251. In some cases, especially where damping andnatural frequency control is not needed, another fluid such as a liquidor jell could be used to fill the bladder 251. In addition to silicone,candidate liquids include ethylene glycol or other low freezing pointliquids.

In an apparatus for adjusting the stiffness of a seat in a vehicle, atleast two containers are arranged in or near a bottom portion of theseat, the first container substantially supports the load of a seatoccupant and the second container is relatively unaffected by this load.The two containers are in flow communication with each other through avariable flow passage. Insertion means, e.g., an air compressor or fluidpump, are provided for directing a medium into one of the container andmonitoring means, e.g., a pressure transducer, measuring the pressure inone or both containers. A control circuit is coupled to the mediuminsertion means and the monitoring means for regulating flow of mediuminto the first container via the medium insertion means until thepressure in the first container as measured by the monitoring means isindicative of a desired stiffness for the seat. The control circuit mayalso be arranged to adjust the flow passage to thereby control flow ofmedium between the two containers and thus damping the motion of onobject on the seat. The flow passage may be an orifice in a peripheralwall of the inner container.

A method for adjusting the stiffness of a seat in a vehicle comprisesthe steps of arranging a first container in a bottom portion of the seatand subjected to the load on the seat, arranging a second container in aposition where it is relatively unaffected by the load on the seat,coupling interior volumes of the two containers through a variable flowpassage, measuring the pressure in the first container, and introducingmedium into the first container until the measured pressure in the firstcontainer is indicative of a desired stiffness for the seat.

4.3 Dynamic Weight Sensing

The combination of the outputs from these accelerometer sensors and theoutput of strain gage weight sensors in a vehicle seat, or in or on asupport structure of the seat, can be used to make an accurateassessment of the occupancy of the seat and differentiate betweenanimate and inanimate occupants as well as determining where in the seatthe occupants are sitting and the state of the use of the seatbelt. Thiscan be done by observing the acceleration signals from the sensors ofFIG. 141 of the '881 application and simultaneously the dynamic straingage measurements from seat-mounted strain gages. The accelerometersprovide the input function to the seat and the strain gages measure thereaction of the occupying item to the vehicle acceleration and therebyprovide a method of determining dynamically the mass of the occupyingitem and its location. This is particularly important during occupantposition sensing during a crash event. By combining the outputs of theaccelerometers and the strain gages and appropriately processing thesame, the mass and weight of an object occupying the seat can bedetermined as well as the gross motion of such an object so that anassessment can be made as to whether the object is a life form such as ahuman being.

Several ways to process the acceleration signal and the stain orpressure signal are discussed with reference to FIG. 167 in the '881application. In general, the dynamic load applied to the seat ismeasured or a forcing function of the seat is measured, as a function ofthe acceleration signal. This represents the effect of the movement ofthe vehicle on the occupant which is reflected in the measurement ofweight by the strain or pressure gages. Thus, the measurement obtainedby the strain or pressure gages can be considered to have twocomponents, one component resulting from the weight applied by theoccupant in a stationary state of the vehicle and the other arising orresulting from the movement of the vehicle. The vehicle-movementcomponent can be separated from the total strain or pressure gagemeasurement to provide a more accurate indication of the weight of theoccupant.

4.4 Combined Spatial and Weight

A novel occupant position sensor for a vehicle, for determining theposition of the occupant, comprises a weight sensor for determining theweight of an occupant of a seat as described immediately above andprocessor means for receiving the determined weight of the occupant fromthe weight sensor and determining the position of the occupant based atleast in part on the determined weight of the occupant. The position ofthe occupant could also be determined based in part on waves receivedfrom the space above the seat, data from seat position sensors,reclining angle sensors, etc.

Although spatial sensors such as ultrasonic, electric field and opticaloccupant sensors can accurately identify and determine the location ofan occupying item in the vehicle, a determination of the mass of theitem is less accurate as it can be fooled in some cases by a thick butlight winter coat, for example. Therefore, it is desirable, when theeconomics permit, to provide a combined system that includes both weightand spatial sensors. Such a system permits a fine tuning of thedeployment time and the amount of gas in the airbag to match theposition and the mass of the occupant. If this is coupled with a smartcrash severity sensor, then a true smart airbag system can result, asdisclosed in the current assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,408.

As disclosed in several of the current assignee's patents, referencedherein and others, the combination of a reduced number of transducersincluding weight and spatial can result from a pruning process startingfrom a larger number of sensors. For example, such a process can beginwith four load cells and four ultrasonic sensors and after a pruningprocess, a system containing two ultrasonic sensors and one load cellcan result. At least one of the inventions disclosed herein is thereforenot limited to any particular number or combination of sensors and theoptimum choice for a particular vehicle will depend on many factorsincluding the specifications of the vehicle manufacturer, cost, accuracydesired, availability of mounting locations and the chosen technologies.

4.5 Face Recognition

A neural network, or other pattern recognition system, can be trained torecognize certain people as permitted operators of a vehicle or forgranting access to a cargo container or truck trailer. In this case, ifa non-recognized person attempts to operate the vehicle or to gainaccess, the system can disable the vehicle and/or sound an alarm or senda message to a remote site via telematics. Since it is unlikely that anunauthorized operator will resemble the authorized operator, the neuralnetwork system can be quite tolerant of differences in appearance of theoperator. The system defaults to where a key or other identificationsystem must be used in the case that the system doesn't recognize theoperator or the owner wishes to allow another person to operate thevehicle or have access to the container. The transducers used toidentify the operator can be any of the types described in detail above.A preferred method is to use optical imager-based transducers perhaps inconjunction with a weight sensor for automotive applications. This isnecessary due to the small size of the features that need to berecognized for a high accuracy of recognition. An alternate system usesan infrared laser, which can be modulated to provide three-dimensionalmeasurements, to irradiate or illuminate the operator and a CCD or CMOSdevice to receive the reflected image. In this case, the recognition ofthe operator is accomplished using a pattern recognition system such asdescribed in Popesco, V. and Vincent, J. M. “Location of Facial FeaturesUsing a Boltzmann Machine to Implement Geometric Constraints”, Chapter14 of Lisboa, P. J. G. and Taylor, M. J. Editors, Techniques andApplications of Neural Networks, Ellis Horwood Publishers, New York,1993. In the present case, a larger CCD element array containing 50,000or more elements would typically be used instead of the 16 by 16 or 256element CCD array used by Popesco and Vincent.

FIG. 16 shows a schematic illustration of a system for controllingoperation of a vehicle based on recognition of an authorized individualin accordance with the invention. A similar system can be designed forallowing access to a truck trailer, cargo container or railroad car, forexample. One or more images of the passenger compartment 260 arereceived at 261 and data derived therefrom at 262. Multiple imagereceivers may be provided at different locations. The data derivationmay entail any one or more of numerous types of image processingtechniques such as those described in the current assignee's U.S. Pat.No. 6,397,136 including those designed to improve the clarity of theimage. A pattern recognition algorithm, e.g., a neural network, istrained in a training phase 263 to recognize authorized individuals. Thetraining phase can be conducted upon purchase of the vehicle by thedealer or by the owner after performing certain procedures provided tothe owner, e.g., entry of a security code or key or at anotherappropriate time and place. In the training phase for a theft preventionsystem, the authorized operator(s) would sit themselves in the passengerseat and optical images would be taken and processed to obtain thepattern recognition algorithm. Alternately, the training can be doneaway from the vehicle which would be more appropriate for cargocontainers and the like.

A processor 264 is embodied with the pattern recognition algorithm thustrained to identify whether a person is the authorized individual byanalysis of subsequently obtained data derived from optical images 262.The pattern recognition algorithm in processor 264 outputs an indicationof whether the person in the image is an authorized individual for whichthe system is trained to identify. A security system 265 enablesoperations of the vehicle when the pattern recognition algorithmprovides an indication that the person is an individual authorized tooperate the vehicle and prevents operation of the vehicle when thepattern recognition algorithm does not provide an indication that theperson is an individual authorized to operate the vehicle.

In some cases, the recognition system can be substantially improved ifdifferent parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are used. As taught inthe book Alien Vision referenced above, distinctive facial markings areevident when viewed under near UV or MWIR illumination that can be usedto positively identify a person. Other biometric measures can be usedwith, or in place of, a facial or iris image to further improve therecognition accuracy such as voice recognition (voice-print), finger orhand prints, weight, height, arm length, hand size etc.

Instead of a security system, another component in the vehicle can beaffected or controlled based on the recognition of a particularindividual. For example, the rear view mirror, seat, seat belt anchoragepoint, headrest, pedals, steering wheel, entertainment system,air-conditioning/ventilation system can be adjusted. Additionally, thedoor can be unlocked upon approach of an authorized person.

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of a method for controllingoperation of a vehicle based on recognition of a person as one of a setof authorized individuals. Although the method is described and shownfor permitting or preventing ignition of the vehicle based onrecognition of an authorized driver, it can be used to control for anyvehicle component, system or subsystem based on recognition of anindividual.

Initially, the system is set in a training phase 266 in which images,and other biometric measures, including the authorized individuals areobtained by means of at least one optical receiving unit 267 and apattern recognition algorithm is trained based thereon 268, usuallyafter application of one or more image processing techniques to theimages. The authorized individual(s) occupy the passenger compartment,or some other appropriate location, and have their picture taken by theoptical receiving unit to enable the formation of a database on whichthe pattern recognition algorithm is trained. Training can be performedby any known method in the art, although combination neural networks arepreferred.

The system is then set in an operational phase 269 wherein an image isoperatively obtained 270, including the driver when the system is usedfor a security system. If the system is used for component adjustment,then the image would include any passengers or other occupying items inthe vehicle. The obtained image, or images if multiple optical receivingunits are used, plus other biometric information, are input into thepattern recognition algorithm 271, preferably after some imageprocessing, and a determination is made whether the pattern recognitionalgorithm indicates that the image includes an authorized driver 272. Ifso, ignition, or some other system, of the vehicle is enabled 273, orthe vehicle may actually be started automatically. If not, an alarm issounded and/or the police or other remote site may be contacted 274.

Once an optic-based system is present in a vehicle, other options can beenabled such as eye-tracking as a data input device or to detectdrowsiness, as discussed above, and even lip reading as a data inputdevice or to augment voice input. This is discussed, for example,Eisenberg, Anne, “Beyond Voice Recognition to a Computer That ReadsLips”, New York Times, Sep. 11, 2003. Lip reading can be implemented ina vehicle through the use of IR illumination and training of a patternrecognition algorithm, such as a neural network or a combinationnetwork. This is one example of where an adaptive neural or combinationnetwork can be employed that learns as it gains experience with aparticular driver. The word “radio”, for example, can be associated withlip motions when the vehicle is stopped or moving slowly and then at alater time when the vehicle is traveling at high speed with considerablewind noise, the voice might be difficult for the system to understand.When augmented with lip reading, the word “radio” can be more accuratelyrecognized. Thus, the combination of lip reading and voice recognitioncan work together to significantly improve accuracy.

Face recognition can of course be done in two or three dimensions andcan involve the creation of a model of the person's head that can aidwhen illumination is poor, for example. Three dimensions are availableif multiple two dimensional images are acquired as the occupant moveshis or her head or through the use of a three-dimensional camera. Athree-dimensional camera generally has two spaced-apart lenses plussoftware to combine the two views. Normally, the lenses are relativelyclose together but this may not need to be the case and significantlymore information can be acquired if the lenses are spaced further apartand in some cases, even such that one camera has a frontal view and theother a side view, for example. Naturally, the software is complicatedfor such cases but the system becomes more robust and less likely to beblocked by a newspaper, for example. A scanning laser radar, PMD orsimilar system with a modulated beam or with range gating as describedabove can also be used to obtain three-dimensional information or a 3Dimage.

Eye tracking as disclosed in Jacob, “Eye Tracking in Advanced InterfaceDesign”, Robert J. K. Jacob, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, NavalResearch Laboratory, Washington, D.C, can be used by vehicle operator tocontrol various vehicle components such as the turn signal, lights,radio, air conditioning, telephone, Internet interactive commands, etc.much as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/645,709. Thedisplay used for the eye tracker can be a heads-up display reflectedfrom the windshield or it can be a plastic electronics display locatedeither in the visor or the windshield.

The eye tracker works most effectively in dim light where the driver'seyes are sufficiently open that the cornea and retina are clearlydistinguishable. The direction of operator's gaze is determined bycalculation of the center of pupil and the center of the iris that arefound by illuminating the eye with infrared radiation. FIG. 8Eillustrates a suitable arrangement for illuminating eye along the sameaxis as the pupil camera. The location of occupant's eyes must be firstdetermined as described elsewhere herein before eye tracking can beimplemented. In FIG. 8E, imager system 52, 54, or 56 are candidatelocations for eye tracker hardware.

The technique is to shine a collimated beam of infrared light on to beoperator's eyeball producing a bright corneal reflection can be brightpupil reflection. Imaging software analyzes the image to identify thelarge bright circle that is the pupil and a still brighter dot which isthe corneal reflection and computes the center of each of these objects.The line of the gaze is determined by connecting the centers of thesetwo reflections.

It is usually necessary only to track a single eye as both eyes tend tolook at the same object. In fact, by checking that both eyes are lookingat the same object, many errors caused by the occupant looking throughthe display onto the road or surrounding environment can be eliminated

Object selection with a mouse or mouse pad, as disclosed in the '709application cross-referenced above is accomplished by pointing at theobject and depressing a button. Using eye tracking, an additionaltechnique is available based on the length of time the operator gazes atthe object. In the implementations herein, both techniques areavailable. In the simulated mouse case, the operator gazes at an object,such as the air conditioning control, and depresses a button on thesteering wheel, for example, to select the object. Alternately, theoperator merely gazes at the object for perhaps one-half second and theobject is automatically selected. Both techniques can be implementedsimultaneously allowing the operator to freely choose between them. Thedwell time can be selectable by the operator as an additional option.Typically, the dwell times will range from about 0.1 seconds to about 1second.

The problem of finding the eyes and tracking the head of the driver, forexample, is handled in Smeraldi, F., Carmona, J. B., “Saccadic searchwith Garbor features applied to eye detection and real-time headtracking”, Image and Vision Computing 18 (2000) 323-329, ElsevierScience B.V. The Saccadic system described is a very efficient method oflocating the most distinctive part of a persons face, the eyes, and inaddition to finding the eyes, a modification of the system can be usedto recognize the driver. The system makes use of the motion of thesubject's head to locate the head prior to doing a search for the eyesusing a modified Garbor decomposition method. By comparing twoconsecutive frames, the head can usually be located if it is in thefield of view of the camera. Although this is the preferred method,other eye location and tracking methods can also be used as reported inthe literature and familiar to those skilled in the art.

4.6 Heartbeat and Health State

In addition to the use of transducers to determine the presence andlocation of occupants in a vehicle, other sensors can also be used. Forexample, as discussed above, a heartbeat sensor, which determines thenumber and presence of heartbeats, can also be arranged in the vehicle.Heartbeat sensors can be adapted to differentiate between a heartbeat ofan adult, a heartbeat of a child and a heartbeat of an animal. As itsname implies, a heartbeat sensor detects a heartbeat, and the magnitudethereof, of a human occupant of the seat or other position, if such ahuman occupant is present. The output of the heartbeat sensor is inputto the processor of the interior monitoring system. One heartbeat sensorfor use in the invention may be of the types as disclosed in McEwan inU.S. Pat. No. 5,573,012 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,208. The heartbeatsensor can be positioned at any convenient position relative to theseats or other appropriate location where occupancy is being monitored.A preferred automotive location is within the vehicle seatback.

This type of micropower impulse radar (MIR) sensor is not believed tohave been used in an interior monitoring system in the past. It can beused to determine the motion of an occupant and thus can determine hisor her heartbeat (as evidenced by motion of the chest), for example.Such an MIR sensor can also be arranged to detect motion in a particulararea in which the occupant's chest would most likely be situated orcould be coupled to an arrangement which determines the location of theoccupant's chest and then adjusts the operational field of the MIRsensor based on the determined location of the occupant's chest. Amotion sensor utilizing a micro-power impulse radar (MIR) system asdisclosed, for example, in McEwan U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,070, as well asmany other patents by the same inventor. Motion sensing is accomplishedby monitoring a particular range from the sensor as disclosed in thatpatent. MIR is one form of radar that has applicability to occupantsensing and can be mounted at various locations in the vehicle. Otherforms include, among others, ultra wideband (UWB) by the Time DomainCorporation and noise radar (NR) by Professor Konstantin Lukin of theNational Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Institute of Radiophysics andElectronics. Radar has an advantage over ultrasonic sensors in that datacan be acquired at a higher speed and thus the motion of an occupant canbe more easily tracked. The ability to obtain returns over the entireoccupancy range is somewhat more difficult than with ultrasoundresulting in a more expensive system overall. MIR, UWB or NR haveadditional advantages in their lack of sensitivity to temperaturevariation and have a comparable resolution to about 40 kHz ultrasound.Resolution comparable to higher frequency is of course possible usingmillimeter waves, for example. Additionally, multiple MIR, UWB or NRsensors can be used when high-speed tracking of the motion of anoccupant during a crash is required since they can be individuallypulsed without interfering with each other through frequency, time orcode division multiplexing or other multiplexing schemes.

Other methods have been reported for measuring heartbeat includingvibrations introduced into a vehicle and variations in the electricfield in the vicinity of where an occupant might reside. All suchmethods are considered encompassed by the teachings of at least one ofthe inventions disclosed herein. The detection of a heartbeat regardlessof how it is accomplished is indicative of the presence of a livingbeing within the vehicle and such a detection as part of an occupantpresence detection system is novel to at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein. Similarly, any motion of an object that is not inducedby the motion of the vehicle itself is indicative of the presence of aliving being and thus part of the teachings herein. The sensing ofoccupant motion regardless of how it is accomplished when used in asystem to affect another vehicle system is contemplated herein.

5. Telematics

Some of the inventions herein relate generally to telematics and thetransmission of information from a vehicle to one or more remote siteswhich can react to the position or status of the vehicle and/oroccupant(s) therein.

Initially, sensing of the occupancy of the vehicle and the optionaltransmission of this information, which may include images, to remotelocations will be discussed. This entails obtaining information fromvarious sensors about the occupants in the passenger compartment of thevehicle, e.g., the number of occupants, their type and their motion, ifany. Then, the concept of a low cost automatic crash notification systemwill be discussed. Next, a diversion into improvements in cell phoneswill be discussed followed by a discussion of trapped children and howtelematics can help save their lives. Finally, the use of telematicswith non-automotive vehicles will round out this section.

Elsewhere in section 13, the use of telematics is included with adiscussion of general vehicle diagnostic methods with the diagnosisbeing transmittable via a communications device to the remote locations.The diagnostics section includes an extensive discussion of varioussensors for use on the vehicle to sense different operating parametersand conditions of the vehicle is provided. All of the sensors discussedherein can be coupled to a communications device enabling transmissionof data, signals and/or images to the remote locations, and reception ofthe same from the remote locations.

5.1 Transmission of Occupancy Information

The cellular phone system, or other telematics communication device, isshown schematically in FIG. 2 by box 32 and outputs to an antenna 34.The phone system or telematics communication device 34 can be coupled tothe vehicle interior monitoring system in accordance with any of theembodiments disclosed herein and serves to establish a communicationschannel with one or more remote assistance facilities, such as an EMSfacility or dispatch facility from which emergency response personnelare dispatched. The telematics system can also be a satellite-basedsystem such as provided by Skybitz.

In the event of an accident, the electronic system associated with thetelematics system interrogates the various interior monitoring systemmemories in processor 20 and can arrive at a count of the number ofoccupants in the vehicle, if each seat is monitored, and, in moresophisticated systems, even makes a determination as to whether eachoccupant was wearing a seatbelt and if he or she is moving after theaccident, and/or the health state of one or more of the occupants asdescribed above, for example. The telematics communication system thenautomatically notifies an EMS operator (such as 911, OnStar® orequivalent) and the information obtained from the interior monitoringsystems is forwarded so that a determination can be made as to thenumber of ambulances and other equipment to send to the accident site.Vehicles having the capability of notifying EMS in the event one or moreairbags deployed are now in service but are not believed to use any ofthe innovative interior monitoring systems described herein. Suchvehicles will also have a system, such as the global positioning system,which permits the vehicle to determine its location and to forward thisinformation to the EMS operator.

FIG. 38 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the inventionincluding a system for determining the presence and health state of anyoccupants of the vehicle and a telecommunications link. This embodimentincludes means for determining the presence of any occupants 150 whichmay take the form of a heartbeat sensor, chemical sensor and/or motionsensor as described above and means for determining the health state ofany occupants 151 as discussed above. The latter means may be integratedinto the means for determining the presence of any occupants, i.e., oneand the same component, or separate therefrom. Further, means fordetermining the location, and optionally velocity, of the occupantsand/or one or more parts thereof 152 are provided and may be anyconventional occupant position sensor or preferably, one of the occupantposition sensors as described herein (e.g., those utilizing waves,electromagnetic radiation, electric fields, bladders, strain gages etc.)or as described in the current assignee's patents and patentapplications referenced above.

A processor 153 is coupled to the presence determining means 150, thehealth state determining means 151 and the location determining means152. A communications unit 154 is coupled to the processor 153. Theprocessor 153 and/or communications unit 154 can also be coupled tomicrophones 158 that can be distributed throughout the vehicle andinclude voice-processing circuitry to enable the occupant(s) to effectvocal control of the processor 153, communications unit 154 or anycoupled component or oral communications via the communications unit154. The processor 153 is also coupled to another vehicular system,component or subsystem 155 and can issue control commands to effectadjustment of the operating conditions of the system, component orsubsystem. Such a system, component or subsystem can be the heating orair-conditioning system, the entertainment system, an occupant restraintdevice such as an airbag, a glare prevention system, etc. Also, apositioning system 156 could be coupled to the processor 153 andprovides an indication of the absolute position of the vehicle,preferably using satellite-based positioning technology (e.g., a GPSreceiver).

In normal use (other then after a crash), the presence determining means150 determine whether any human occupants are present, i.e., adults orchildren, and the location determining means 152 determine theoccupant's location. The processor 153 receives signals representativeof the presence of occupants and their location and determines whetherthe vehicular system, component or subsystem 155 can be modified tooptimize its operation for the specific arrangement of occupants. Forexample, if the processor 153 determines that only the front seats inthe vehicle are occupied, it could control the heating system to provideheat only through vents situated to provide heat for the front-seatedoccupants.

The communications unit 154 performs the function of enablingestablishment of a communications channel to a remote facility toreceive information about the occupancy of the vehicle as determined bythe presence determining means 150, occupant health state determiningmeans 151 and/or occupant location determining means 152. Thecommunications unit 154 thus can be designed to transmit over asufficiently large range and at an established frequency monitored bythe remote facility, which may be an EMS facility, sheriff department,or fire department. Alternately, it can communicate with a satellitesystem such as the Skybitz system and the information can be forwardedto the appropriate facility via the Internet or other appropriate link.

Another vehicular telematics system, component or subsystem is anavigational aid, such as a route guidance display or map. In this case,the position of the vehicle as determined by the positioning system 156is conveyed through processor 153 to the communications unit 154 to aremote facility and a map is transmitted from this facility to thevehicle to be displayed on the route display. If directions are needed,a request for such directions can be entered into an input unit 157associated with the processor 153 and transmitted to the facility. Datafor the display map and/or vocal instructions can then be transmittedfrom this facility to the vehicle.

Moreover, using this embodiment, it is possible to remotely monitor thehealth state of the occupants in the vehicle and most importantly, thedriver. The health state determining means 151 may be used to detectwhether the driver's breathing is erratic or indicative of a state inwhich the driver is dozing off. The health state determining means 151can also include a breath-analyzer to determine whether the driver'sbreath contains alcohol. In this case, the health state of the driver isrelayed through the processor 153 and the communications unit 154 to theremote facility and appropriate action can be taken. For example, itwould be possible to transmit a command, e.g., in the form of a signal,to the vehicle to activate an alarm or illuminate a warning light or ifthe vehicle is equipped with an automatic guidance system and ignitionshut-off, to cause the vehicle to come to a stop on the shoulder of theroadway or elsewhere out of the traffic stream. The alarm, warninglight, automatic guidance system and ignition shut-off are thusparticular vehicular components or subsystems represented by 155. Thevehicular component or subsystem could be activated directly by thesignal from the remote facility, if they include a signal receiver, orindirectly via the communications unit 154 and processor 153.

In use after a crash, the presence determining means 150, health statedetermining means 151 and location determining means 152 obtain readingsfrom the passenger compartment and direct such readings to the processor153. The processor 153 analyzes the information and directs or controlsthe transmission of the information about the occupant(s) to a remote,manned facility. Such information could include the number and type ofoccupants, i.e., adults, children, infants, whether any of the occupantshave stopped breathing or are breathing erratically, whether theoccupants are conscious (as evidenced by, e.g., eye motion), whetherblood is present (as detected by a chemical sensor) and whether theoccupants are making sounds (as detected by a microphone). Thedetermination of the number of occupants is obtained from the presencedetermining mechanism 150, i.e., the number of occupants whose presenceis detected is the number of occupants in the passenger compartment. Thedetermination of the status of the occupants, i.e., whether they aremoving is performed by the health state determining mechanism 151, suchas the motion sensors, heartbeat sensors, chemical sensors, etc.Moreover, the communications link through the communications unit 154can be activated immediately after the crash to enable personnel at theremote facility to initiate communications with the vehicle.

Once an occupying item has been located in a vehicle, or any objectoutside of the vehicle, the identification or categorization informationalong with an image, including an IR or multispectral image, or icon ofthe object can be sent via a telematics channel to a remote location. Apassing vehicle, for example, can send a picture of an accident or asystem in a vehicle that has had an accident can send an image of theoccupant(s) of the vehicle to aid in injury assessment by the EMS team.

Although in most if not all of the embodiments described above, it hasbeen assumed that the transmission of images or other data from thevehicle to the EMS or other off-vehicle (remote) site is initiated bythe vehicle, this may not always be the case and in some embodiments,provision is made for the off-vehicle site to initiate the acquisitionand/or transmission of data including images from the vehicle. Thus, forexample, once an EMS operator knows that there has been an accident, heor she can send a command to the vehicle to control components in thevehicle to cause the components send images and other data so that thesituation can be monitored by the operator or other person. Thecapability to receive and initiate such transmissions can also beprovided in an emergency vehicle such as a police car or ambulance. Inthis manner, for a stolen vehicle situation, the police officer, forexample, can continue to monitor the interior of the stolen vehicle.

FIG. 39 shows a schematic of the integration of the occupant sensingwith a telematics link and the vehicle diagnosis with a telematics link.As envisioned, the occupant sensing system 600 includes those componentswhich determine the presence, position, health state, and otherinformation relating to the occupants, for example the transducersdiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 38 and the SAW devicediscussed above with reference to FIG. 135 of the '881 application.Information relating to the occupants includes information as to whatthe driver is doing, talking on the phone, communicating with OnStar® orother route guidance, listening to the radio, sleeping, drunk, drugged,having a heart attack The occupant sensing system may also be any ofthose systems and apparatus described in any of the current assignee'sabove-referenced patents and patent applications or any other comparableoccupant sensing system which performs any or all of the same functionsas they relate to occupant sensing. Examples of sensors which might beinstalled on a vehicle and constitute the occupant sensing systeminclude heartbeat sensors, motion sensors, weight sensors, microphonesand optical sensors.

A crash sensor system 591 is provided and determines when the vehicleexperiences a crash. This crash sensor may be part of the occupantrestraint system or independent from it. Crash sensor system 591 mayinclude any type of crash sensors, including one or more crash sensorsof the same or different types.

Vehicle sensors 592 include sensors which detect the operatingconditions of the vehicle such as those sensors discussed with referenceto FIGS. 135-138 of the '881 application and tire sensors such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,642. Other examples include velocityand acceleration sensors, and angle and angular rate pitch, roll and yawsensors. Of particular importance are sensors that tell what the car isdoing: speed, skidding, sliding, location, communicating with other carsor the infrastructure, etc.

Environment sensors 593 includes sensors which provide data to theoperating environment of the vehicle, e.g., the inside and outsidetemperatures, the time of day, the location of the sun and lights, thelocations of other vehicles, rain, snow, sleet, visibility (fog),general road condition information, pot holes, ice, snow cover, roadvisibility, assessment of traffic, video pictures of an accident, etc.Possible sensors include optical sensors which obtain images of theenvironment surrounding the vehicle, blind spot detectors which providesdata on the blind spot of the driver, automatic cruise control sensorsthat can provide images of vehicles in front of the host vehicle,various radar devices which provide the position of other vehicles andobjects relative to the subject vehicle.

The occupant sensing system 600, crash sensors 591, vehicle sensors 592,environment sensors 593 and all other sensors listed above can becoupled to a communications device 594 which may contain a memory unitand appropriate electrical hardware to communicate with the sensors,process data from the sensors, and transmit data from the sensors. Thememory unit would be useful to store data from the sensors, updatedperiodically, so that such information could be transmitted at set timeintervals.

The communications device 594 can be designed to transmit information toany number of different types of facilities. For example, thecommunications device 594 would be designed to transmit information toan emergency response facility 595 in the event of an accident involvingthe vehicle. The transmission of the information could be triggered by asignal from a crash sensor 591 that the vehicle was experiencing a crashor experienced a crash. The information transmitted could come from theoccupant sensing system 600 so that the emergency response could betailored to the status of the occupants. For example, if the vehicle wasdetermined to have ten occupants, multiple ambulances might be sent.Also, if the occupants are determined not be breathing, then a higherpriority call with living survivors might receive assistance first. Assuch, the information from the occupant sensing system 600 would be usedto prioritize the duties of the emergency response personnel.

Information from the vehicle sensors 592 and environment sensors 593 canalso be transmitted to law enforcement authorities 597 in the event ofan accident so that the cause(s) of the accident could be determined.Such information can also include information from the occupant sensingsystem 600, which might reveal that the driver was talking on the phone,putting on make-up, or another distracting activity, information fromthe vehicle sensors 592 which might reveal a problem with the vehicle,and information from the environment sensors 593 which might reveal theexistence of slippery roads, dense fog and the like.

Information from the occupant sensing system 600, vehicle sensors 592and environment sensors 593 can also be transmitted to the vehiclemanufacturer 598 in the event of an accident so that a determination canbe made as to whether failure of a component of the vehicle caused orcontributed to the cause of the accident. For example, the vehiclesensors might determine that the tire pressure was too low so thatadvice can be disseminated to avoid maintaining the tire pressure toolow in order to avoid an accident. Information from the vehicle sensors592 relating to component failure could be transmitted to adealer/repair facility 596 which could schedule maintenance to correctthe problem.

The communications device 594 can be designed to transmit particularinformation to each site, i.e., only information important to beconsidered by the personnel at that site. For example, the emergencyresponse personnel have no need for the fact that the tire pressure wastoo low but such information is important to the law enforcementauthorities 597 (for the possible purpose of issuing a recall of thetire and/or vehicle) and the vehicle manufacturer 598.

In one exemplifying use of the system shown in FIG. 39, the operator atthe remote facility 595 could be notified when the vehicle experiences acrash, as detected by the crash sensor system 591 and transmitted to theremote facility 595 via the communications device 594. In this case, ifthe vehicle occupants are unable to, or do not, initiate communicationswith the remote facility 595, the operator would be able to receiveinformation from the occupant sensing system 600, as well as the vehiclesensors 592 and environmental sensors 593. The operator could thendirect the appropriate emergency response personnel to the vehicle. Thecommunications device 594 could thus be designed to automaticallyestablish the communications channel with the remote facility when thecrash sensor system 591 determines that the vehicle has experienced acrash.

The communications device 594 can be a cellular phone, OnStar® or othersubscriber-based telematics system, a peer-to-peer vehicle communicationsystem that eventually communicates to the infrastructure and then,perhaps, to the Internet with e-mail to the dealer, manufacturer,vehicle owner, law enforcement authorities or others. It can also be avehicle to LEO or Geostationary satellite system such as Skybitz whichcan then forward the information to the appropriate facility eitherdirectly or through the Internet.

The communication may need to be secret so as not to violate the privacyof the occupants and thus encrypted communication may in many cases berequired. Other innovations described herein include the transmission ofany video data from a vehicle to another vehicle or to a facility remotefrom the vehicle by any means such as a telematics communication systemsuch as OnStar®, a cellular phone system, a communication via GEO,geocentric or other satellite system and any communication thatcommunicates the results of a pattern recognition system analysis. Also,any communication from a vehicle that combines sensor information withlocation information is anticipated by at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein.

When optical sensors are provided as part of the occupant sensing system600, video conferencing becomes a possibility, whether or not thevehicle experiences a crash. That is, the occupants of the vehicle canengage in a video conference with people at another location 599 viaestablishment of a communications channel by the communications device594.

The vehicle diagnostic system described above using a telematics linkcan transmit information from any type of sensors on the vehicle.

5.2 Telematics with Non-Automotive Vehicles

The transmission of data obtained from imagers, or other transducers, toanother location, requiring the processing of the information, usingneural networks for example, to a remote location is an importantfeature of the inventions disclosed herein. This capability can permitan owner of a cargo container or truck trailer to obtain a picture ofthe interior of the vehicle at any time via telematics. When coupledwith occupant sensing, the driver of a vehicle can be recognized and theresult sent by telematics for authorization to minimize the theft orunauthorized operation of a vehicle. The recognition of the driver caneither be performed on the vehicle or an image of the driver can be sentto a remote location for recognition at that location.

Generally monitoring of containers, trailers, chassis etc. isaccomplished through telecommunications primarily with LEO orgeostationary satellites or through terrestrial-based communicationsystems. These systems are commercially available and will not bediscussed here. Expected future systems include communication betweenthe container and the infrastructure to indicate to the monitoringauthorities that a container with a particular identification number ispassing a particular terrestrial point. If this is expected, then noaction would be taken. The container identification number can be partof a national database that contains information as to the contents ofthe container. Thus, for example, if a container containing hazardousmaterials approaches a bridge or tunnel that forbids such hazardousmaterials from passing over the bridge or through the tunnel, then anemergency situation can be signaled and preventive action taken.

It is expected that monitoring of the transportation of cargo containerswill dramatically increase as the efforts to reduce terrorist activitiesalso increase. If every container that passes within the borders of theUnited States has an identification number and that number is in adatabase that provides the contents of that container, then the use ofshipping containers by terrorists or criminals should gradually beeliminated. If these containers are carefully monitored by satellite oranother communication system that indicates any unusual activity of acontainer, an immediate investigation can result and then the cargotransportation system will gradually approach perfection whereterrorists or criminals are denied this means of transporting materialinto and within the United States. If any container is found containingcontraband material, then the entire history of how that containerentered the United States can be checked to determine the source of thefailure. If the failure is found to have occurred at a loading portoutside of the United States, then sanctions can be imposed on the hostcountry that could have serious effects on that country's ability totrade worldwide. Just the threat of such an action would be asignificant deterrent. Thus, the use of containers to transporthazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction as well as people,narcotics, or other contraband and can be effectively eliminated throughthe use of the container monitoring system of at least one of theinventions disclosed herein.

Prior to the entry of a container ship into a harbor, a Coast Guard boatfrom the U.S. Customs Service can approach the container vessel and scanall of the containers thereon to be sure that all such containers areregistered and tracked including their contents. Where containerscontain dangerous material legally, the seals on those containers can becarefully investigated prior to the ship entering U.S. waters.Obviously, many other security precautions can now be conceived once theability to track all containers and their contents has been achievedaccording to the teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosedherein.

Containers that enter the United States through land ports of entry canalso be interrogated in a similar fashion. As long as the shipper isknown and reputable and the container contents are in the database,which would probably be accessible over the Internet, is properlyupdated, then all containers will be effectively monitored that enterthe United States with the penalty of an error resulting in thedisenfranchisement of the shipper, and perhaps sanctions against thecountry, which for most reputable shippers or shipping companies wouldbe a severe penalty sufficient to cause such shippers or shippingcompanies to take appropriate action to assure the integrity of theshipping containers. Naturally, intelligent selected random inspectionsguided by the container history would still take place.

Although satellite communication is preferred, communication using cellphones and infrastructure devices placed at appropriate locations alongroadways are also possible. Eventually there will be a network linkingall vehicles on the highways in a peer-to-peer arrangement (perhapsusing Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 (WI-FI), Wi-Mobile or other local, mesh orad-hoc network) at which time information relative to container contentsetc. can be communicated to the Internet or elsewhere through thispeer-to-peer network. It is expected that a pseudo-noise-based orsimilar communication system such as a code division multiple access(CDMA) system, wherein the identifying code of a vehicle is derived fromthe vehicle's GPS determined location, will be the technology of choicefor this peer-to-peer vehicle network. It is expected that this networkwill be able to communicate such information to the Internet (withproper security precautions including encryption where necessary ordesired) and that all of the important information relative to thecontents of moving containers throughout the United States will beavailable on the Internet on a need-to-know basis. Thus, law enforcementagencies can maintain computer programs that will monitor the contentsof containers using information available from the Internet. Similarly,shippers and receivers can monitor the status of their shipments througha connection onto the Internet. Thus, the existence of the Internet orequivalent can be important to the monitoring system described herein.

An alternate method of implementing the invention is to make use of acell phone or PDA. Cell phones that are now sold contain a GPS-basedlocation system as do many PDAs. Such a system along with minimaladditional apparatus can be used to practice the teachings disclosedherein. In this case, the cell phone, PDA or similar portable devicecould be mounted through a snap-in attachment system, for example,wherein the portable device is firmly attached to the vehicle. Thedevice can at that point, for example, obtain an ID number from thecontainer through a variety of methods such as a RFID, SAW or hardwiredbased system. It can also connect to a satellite antenna that wouldpermit the device to communicate to a LEO or GEO satellite system, suchas Skybitz as described above. Since the portable device would onlyoperate on a low duty cycle, the battery should last for many days orperhaps longer. Of course, if it is connected to the vehicle powersystem, its life could be indefinite. Naturally, when power is waning,this fact can be sent to the satellite or cell phone system to alert theappropriate personnel. Since a cell phone contains a microphone, itcould be trained, using an appropriate pattern recognition system, torecognize the sound of an accident or the deployment of an airbag orsimilar event. It thus becomes a very low cost OnStar® type telematicssystem.

As an alternative to using a satellite network, the cell phone networkcan be used in essentially the same manner when a cell phone signal isavailable. Naturally, all of the sensors disclosed herein can either beincorporated into the portable device or placed on the vehicle andconnected to the portable device when the device is attached to thevehicle. This system has a key advantage of avoiding obsolescence. Withtechnology rapidly changing, the portable device can be exchanged for alater model or upgraded as needed or desired, keeping the overall systemat the highest technical state. Existing telematics systems such asOnStar® can of course also be used with this system.

Importantly, an automatic emergency notification system can now be madeavailable to all owners of appropriately configured cell phones, PDAs,or other similar portable devices that can operate on a very low costbasis without the need for a monthly subscription since they can bedesigned to operate only on an exception basis. Owners would pay only asthey use the service. Stolen vehicle location, automatic notification inthe event of a crash even with the transmission of a picture forcamera-equipped devices is now possible. Automatic door unlocking canalso be done by the device since it could transmit a signal to thevehicle, in a similar fashion as a keyless entry system, from eitherinside or outside the vehicle. The phone can be equipped with abiometric identification system such as fingerprint, voice print, facialor iris recognition etc. thereby giving that capability to vehicles. Thedevice can thus become the general key to the vehicle or house, and caneven open the garage door etc. If the cell phone is lost, itswhereabouts can be instantly found since it has a GPS receiver and knowswhere it is. If it is stolen, it will become inoperable without thebiometric identification from the owner.

Other communication systems will also frequently be used to connect thecontainer with the chassis and/or the tractor and perhaps theidentification of the driver or operator. Thus, information can beavailable on the Internet showing what tractor, what trailer, whatcontainer and what driver is operating at a particular time, at aparticular GPS location, on a particular roadway, with what particularcontainer contents. Suitable security will be provided to ensure thatthis information is not freely available to the general public.Naturally, redundancy can be provided to prevent the destruction or anyfailure of a particular site from failing the system.

This communication between the various elements of the shipping systemwhich are co-located (truck, trailer, container, container contents,driver etc.) can be connected through a wired or wireless bus such asthe CAN bus. Also, an electrical system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 5,809,437, U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,787 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,704 canalso be used in the invention.

6. Pattern Recognition

In basic embodiments of the inventions, wave or energy-receivingtransducers are arranged in the vehicle at appropriate locations,associated algorithms are trained, if necessary depending on theparticular embodiment, and function to determine whether a life form, orother object, is present in the vehicle and if so, how many life formsor objects are present. A determination can also be made using thetransducers as to whether the life forms are humans, or morespecifically, adults, child in child seats, etc. As noted above andbelow, this is possible using pattern recognition techniques. Moreover,the processor or processors associated with the transducers can betrained (loaded with a trained pattern recognition algorithm) todetermine the location of the life forms or objects, either periodicallyor continuously or possibly only immediately before, during and after acrash. The location of the life forms or objects can be as general or asspecific as necessary depending on the system requirements, i.e., adetermination can be made that a human is situated on the driver's seatin a normal position (general) or a determination can be made that ahuman is situated on the driver's seat and is leaning forward and/or tothe side at a specific angle as well as determining the position of hisor her extremities and head and chest (specific). Or, a determinationcan be made as to the size or type of objects such as boxes are in atruck trailer or cargo container. The degree of detail is limited byseveral factors, including, e.g., the number, position and type oftransducers and the training of the pattern recognition algorithm.

When different objects are placed on the front passenger seat, theimages (here “image” is used to represent any form of signal) fromtransducers 6, 8, 10 (FIG. 1) are different for different objects butthere are also similarities between all images of rear facing childseats, for example, regardless of where on the vehicle seat it is placedand regardless of what company manufactured the child seat. Alternately,there will be similarities between all images of people sitting on theseat regardless of what they are wearing, their age or size. The problemis to find the set of “rules” or an algorithm that differentiates theimages of one type of object from the images of other types of objects,for example which differentiate the adult occupant images from the rearfacing child seat images or boxes. The similarities of these images forvarious child seats are frequently not obvious to a person looking atplots of the time series from ultrasonic sensors, for example, and thuscomputer algorithms are developed to sort out the various patterns. Fora more detailed discussion of pattern recognition see U.S. RE37260 toVarga et. and discussions elsewhere herein.

The determination of these rules is important to the pattern recognitiontechniques used in at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. Ingeneral, three approaches have been useful, artificial intelligence,fuzzy logic and artificial neural networks including modular orcombination neural networks. Other types of pattern recognitiontechniques may also be used, such as sensor fusion as disclosed inCorrado U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,314, U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,085, and U.S. Pat.No. 6,249,729. In some of the inventions disclosed herein, such as thedetermination that there is an object in the path of a closing window ordoor using acoustics or optics as described herein, the rules aresufficiently obvious that a trained researcher can look at the returnedsignals and devise an algorithm to make the required determinations. Inothers, such as the determination of the presence of a rear facing childseat or of an occupant, artificial neural networks are used to determinethe rules. Neural network software for determining the patternrecognition rules is available from various sources such asInternational Scientific Research, Inc., Panama City, Panama.

The human mind has little problem recognizing faces even when they arepartially occluded such as with a hat, sunglasses or a scarf, forexample. With the increase in low cost computing power, it is nowbecoming possible to train a rather large neural network, perhaps acombination neural network, to recognize most of those cases where ahuman mind will also be successful.

Other techniques which may or may not be part of the process ofdesigning a system for a particular application include the following:

1. Fuzzy logic. Neural networks frequently exhibit the property thatwhen presented with a situation that is totally different from anypreviously encountered, an irrational decision can result. Frequently,when the trained observer looks at input data, certain boundaries to thedata become evident and cases that fall outside of those boundaries areindicative of either corrupted data or data from a totally unexpectedsituation. It is sometimes desirable for the system designer to addrules to handle these cases. These can be fuzzy logic-based rules orrules based on human intelligence. One example would be that whencertain parts of the data vector fall outside of expected bounds thatthe system defaults to an airbag-enable state or the previouslydetermined state.

2. Genetic algorithms. When developing a neural network algorithm for aparticular vehicle, there is no guarantee that the best of all possiblealgorithms has been selected. One method of improving the probabilitythat the best algorithm has been selected is to incorporate some of theprinciples of genetic algorithms. In one application of this theory, thenetwork architecture and/or the node weights are varied pseudo-randomlyto attempt to find other combinations which have higher success rates.The discussion of such genetic algorithms systems appears in the bookComputational Intelligence referenced above.

Although neural networks are preferred other classifiers such asBayesian classifiers can be used as well as any other patternrecognition system. A key feature of most of the inventions disclosedherein is the recognition that the technology of pattern recognitionrather than deterministic mathematics should be applied to solving theoccupant sensing problem.

6.1 Neural Networks

An occupant can move from a position safely displaced from the airbag toa position where he or she can be seriously injured by the deployment ofan airbag within a fraction of a second during pre-crash braking, forexample. On the other hand, it takes a substantially longer time periodto change the seat occupancy state from a forward facing person to arear facing child seat, or even from a forward facing child seat to arear facing child seat. This fact can be used in the discriminationprocess through post-processing algorithms. One method, which alsoprepares for DOOP, is to use a two-layered neural network or twoseparate neural networks. The first one categorizes the seat occupancyinto, for example, (1) empty seat, (2) rear facing child seat, (3)forward facing child seat and (4) forward facing human (not in a childseat). The second is used for occupant position determination. In theimplementation, the same input layer can be used for both neuralnetworks but separate hidden and output layers are used. This isillustrated in FIG. 53 which is similar to FIG. 19 b with the additionof a post processing operation for both the categorization and positionnetworks and the separate hidden layer nodes for each network.

If the categorization network determines that either a category (3) or(4) exists, then the second network is run, which determines thelocation of the occupant. Significant averaging of the vectors is usedfor the first network and substantial evidence is required before theoccupancy class is changed. For example, if data is acquired every 10milliseconds, the first network might be designed to require 600 out of1000 changed vectors before a change of state is determined. In thiscase, at least 6 seconds of confirming data would be required. Such asystem would therefore not be fooled by a momentary placement of anewspaper by a forward facing human, for example, that might look like arear-facing child seat.

If, on the other hand, a forward facing human were chosen, his or herposition could be determined every 10 milliseconds. A decision that theoccupant had moved out of position would not necessarily be made fromone 10 millisecond reading unless that reading was consistent withprevious readings. Nevertheless, a series of consistent readings wouldlead to a decision within 10 milliseconds of when the occupant crossedover into the danger zone proximate to the airbag module. This method ofusing history is used to eliminate the effects of temperature gradients,for example, or other events that could temporarily distort one or morevectors. The algorithms which perform this analysis are part of thepost-processor.

More particularly, in one embodiment of the method in accordance with atleast one of the inventions herein in which two neural networks are usedin the control of the deployment of an occupant restraint device basedon the position of an object in a passenger compartment of a vehicle,several wave-emitting and receiving transducers are mounted on thevehicle. In one preferred embodiment, the transducers are ultrasonictransducers which simultaneously transmit and receive waves at differentfrequencies from one another. A determination is made by a first neuralnetwork whether the object is of a type requiring deployment of theoccupant restraint device in the event of a crash involving the vehiclebased on the waves received by at least some of the transducers afterbeing modified by passing through the passenger compartment. If so,another determination is made by a second neural network whether theposition of the object relative to the occupant restraint device wouldcause injury to the object upon deployment of the occupant restraintdevice based on the waves received by at least some of the transducers.The first neural network is trained on signals from at least some of thetransducers representative of waves received by the transducers whendifferent objects are situated in the passenger compartment. The secondneural network is trained on signals from at least some of thetransducers when different objects in different positions are situatedin the passenger compartment.

The transducers used in the training of the first and second neuralnetworks and operational use of method are not necessary the sametransducers and different sets of transducers can be used for the typingor categorizing of the object via the first neural network and theposition determination of the object via the second neural network.

The modifications described above with respect to the use of ultrasonictransducers can also be used in conjunction with a dual neural networksystem. For example, motion of a respective vibrating element or cone ofone or more of the transducers may be electronically or mechanicallydiminished or suppressed to reduce ringing of the transducer and/or oneor more of the transducers may be arranged in a respective tube havingan opening through which the waves are transmitted and received.

In another embodiment of the invention, a method for categorizing anddetermining the position of an object in a passenger compartment of avehicle entails mounting a plurality of wave-receiving transducers onthe vehicle, training a first neural network on signals from at leastsome of the transducers representative of waves received by thetransducers when different objects in different positions are situatedin the passenger compartment, and training a second neural network onsignals from at least some of the transducers representative of wavesreceived by the transducers when different objects in differentpositions are situated in the passenger compartment. As such, the firstneural network provides an output signal indicative of thecategorization of the object while the second neural network provides anoutput signal indicative of the position of the object. The transducersmay be controlled to transmit and receive waves each at a differentfrequency, as discussed elsewhere herein, and one or more of thetransducers may be arranged in a respective tube having an openingthrough which the waves are transmitted and received.

Although this system is described with particular advantageous use forultrasonic and optical transducers, it is conceivable that othertransducers other than the ultrasonics or optics can also be used inaccordance with the invention. A dual neural network is a form of amodular neural network and both are subsets of combination neuralnetworks.

The system used in a preferred implementation of at least one of theinventions disclosed herein for the determination of the presence of arear facing child seat, of an occupant or of an empty seat, for example,is the artificial neural network, which is also commonly referred to asa trained neural network. In one case, illustrated in FIG. 1, thenetwork operates on the returned signals as sensed by transducers 6, 8,9 and 10, for example. Through a training session, the system is taughtto differentiate between the different cases. This is done by conductinga large number of experiments where a selection of the possible childseats is placed in a large number of possible orientations on the frontpassenger seat. Similarly, a sufficiently large number of experimentsare run with human occupants and with boxes, bags of groceries and otherobjects (both inanimate and animate). For each experiment with differentobjects and the same object in different positions, the returned signalsfrom the transducers 6, 8, 9 and 10, for example, are associated withthe identification of the occupant in the seat or the empty seat andinformation about the occupant such as its orientation if it is a childseat and/or position. Data sets are formed from the returned signals andthe identification and information about the occupant or the absence ofan occupant. The data sets are input into a neural network-generatingprogram that creates a trained neural network that can, upon receivinginput of returned signals from the transducers 6, 8, 9 and 10, providean output of the identification and information about the occupant mostlikely situated in the seat or ascertained the existence of an emptyseat. Sometimes as many as 1,000,000 such experiments are run before theneural network is sufficiently trained and tested so that it candifferentiate among the several cases and output the correct decisionwith a very high probability. The data from each trial is combined toform a one-dimensional array of data called a vector. Of course, it mustbe realized that a neural network can also be trained to differentiateamong additional cases, for example, a forward facing child seat. It canalso be trained to recognize the existence of one or more boxes or othercargo within a truck trailer, cargo container, automobile trunk orrailroad car, for example.

Considering now FIG. 9, the normalized data from the ultrasonictransducers 6, 8, 9 and 10, the seat track position detecting sensor 74,the reclining angle detecting sensor 57, from the weight sensor(s) 7, 76and 97, from the heartbeat sensor 71, the capacitive sensor 78 and themotion sensor 73 are input to the neural network 65, and the neuralnetwork 65 is then trained on this data. More specifically, the neuralnetwork 65 adds up the normalized data from the ultrasonic transducers,from the seat track position detecting sensor 74, from the recliningangle detecting sensor 57, from the weight sensor(s) 7, 76 and 97, fromthe heartbeat sensor 71, from the capacitive sensor 78 and from themotion sensor 73 with each data point multiplied by an associated weightaccording to the conventional neural network process to determinecorrelation function (step S6 in FIG. 12).

Looking now at FIG. 19B, in this embodiment, 144 data points areappropriately interconnected at 25 connecting points of layer 1, andeach data point is mutually correlated through the neural networktraining and weight determination process. The 144 data points consistof 138 measured data points from the ultrasonic transducers, the data(139th) from the seat track position detecting sensor 74, the data(140th) from the reclining angle detecting sensor 57, the data (141st)from the weight sensor(s) 7 or 76, the data (142^(nd)) from theheartbeat sensor 71, the data (143^(rd)) from the capacitive sensor andthe data (144^(th)) from the motion sensor (the last three inputs arenot shown on FIG. 19B. Each of the connecting points of the layer 1 hasan appropriate threshold value, and if the sum of measured data exceedsthe threshold value, each of the connecting points will output a signalto the connecting points of layer 2. Although the weight sensor input isshown as a single input, in general there will be a separate input fromeach weight sensor used. For example, if the seat has four seat supportsand a strain measuring element is used on each support, what will befour data inputs to the neural network.

The connecting points of the layer 2 comprises 20 points, and the 25connecting points of the layer 1 are appropriately interconnected as theconnecting points of the layer 2. Similarly, each data is mutuallycorrelated through the training process and weight determination asdescribed above and in the above-referenced neural network texts. Eachof the 20 connecting points of the layer 2 has an appropriate thresholdvalue, and if the sum of measured data exceeds the threshold value, eachof the connecting points will output a signal to the connecting pointsof layer 3.

The connecting points of the layer 3 comprises 3 points, and theconnecting points of the layer 2 are interconnected at the connectingpoints of the layer 3 so that each data is mutually correlated asdescribed above. If the sum of the outputs of the connecting points oflayer 2 exceeds a threshold value, the connecting points of the latter 3will output Logic values (100), (010), and (001) respectively, forexample.

The neural network 65 recognizes the seated-state of a passenger A bytraining as described in several books on Neural Networks mentioned inthe above referenced patents and patent applications. Then, aftertraining the seated-state of the passenger A and developing the neuralnetwork weights, the system is tested. The training procedure and thetest procedure of the neural network 65 will hereafter be described witha flowchart shown in FIG. 12.

The threshold value of each connecting point is determined bymultiplying weight coefficients and summing up the results in sequence,and the aforementioned training process is to determine a weightcoefficient Wj so that the threshold value (ai) is a previouslydetermined output.ai=ΣWj·Xj (i=1 to N)

wherein

-   -   Wj is the weight coefficient,    -   Xj is the data and    -   N is the number of samples.

Based on this result of the training, the neural network 65 generatesthe weights for the coefficients of the correlation function or thealgorithm (step S7).

At the time the neural network 65 has learned a suitable number ofpatterns of the training data, the result of the training is tested bythe test data. In the case where the rate of correct answers of theseated-state detecting unit based on this test data is unsatisfactory,the neural network is further trained and the test is repeated. In thisembodiment, the test was performed based on about 600,000 test patterns.When the rate of correct test result answers was at about 98%, thetraining was ended. Further improvements to the ultrasonic occupantsensor system has now resulted in accuracies exceeding 98% and for theoptical system exceeding 99%.

The neural network software operates as follows. The training data isused to determine the weights which multiply the values at the variousnodes at the lower level when they are combined at nodes at a higherlevel. Once a sufficient number of iterations have been accomplished,the independent data is used to check the network. If the accuracy ofthe network using the independent data is lower than the last time thatit was checked using the independent data, then the previous weights aresubstituted for the new weights and training of the network continues ona different path. Thus, although the independent data is not used totrain the network, it does strongly affect the weights. It is thereforenot really independent. Also, both the training data and the independentdata are created so that all occupancy states are roughly equallyrepresented. As a result, a third set of data is used which isstructured to more closely represent the real world of vehicleoccupancy. This third data set, the “real world” data, is then used toarrive at a figure as to the real accuracy of the system.

The neural network 65 has outputs 65 a, 65 b and 65 c (FIG. 9). Each ofthe outputs 65 a, 65 b and 65 c outputs a signal of logic 0 or 1 to agate circuit or algorithm 77. Based on the signals from the outputs 65a, 65 b and 65 c, any one of these combination (100), (010) and (001) isobtained. In another preferred embodiment, all data for the empty seatwas removed from the training set and the empty seat case was determinedbased on the output of the weight sensor alone. This simplifies theneural network and improves its accuracy.

In this embodiment, the output (001) correspond to a vacant seat, a seatoccupied by an inanimate object or a seat occupied by a pet (VACANT),the output (010) corresponds to a rear facing child seat (RFCS) or anabnormally seated passenger (ASP or OOPA), and the output (100)corresponds to a normally seated passenger (NSP or FFA) or a forwardfacing child seat (FFCS).

The gate circuit (seated-state evaluation circuit) 77 can be implementedby an electronic circuit or by a computer algorithm by those skilled inthe art and the details will not be presented here. The function of thegate circuit 77 is to remove the ambiguity that sometimes results whenultrasonic sensors and seat position sensors alone are used. Thisambiguity is that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between arear facing child seat (RFCS) and an abnormally seated passenger (ASP),or between a normally seated passenger (NSP) and a forward facing childseat (FFCS). By the addition of one or more weight sensors in thefunction of acting as a switch when the weight is above or below 60lbs., it has been found that this ambiguity can be eliminated. The gatecircuit therefore takes into account the output of the neural networkand also the weight from the weight sensor(s) as being above or below 60lbs. and thereby separates the two cases just described and results infive discrete outputs.

The use of weight data must be heavily filtered since during drivingconditions, especially on rough roads or during an accident, the weightsensors will give highly varying output. The weight sensors, therefore,are of little value during the period of time leading up to andincluding a crash and their influence must be minimized during this timeperiod. One way of doing this is to average the data over a long periodof time such as from 5 seconds to a minute or more.

Thus, the gate circuit 77 fulfills a role of outputting five kinds ofseated-state evaluation signals, based on a combination of three kindsof evaluation signals from the neural network 65 and superimposedinformation from the weight sensor(s). The five seated-state evaluationsignals are input to an airbag deployment determining circuit that ispart of the airbag system and will not be described here. As disclosedin the above-referenced patents and patent applications, the output ofthis system can also be used to activate a variety of lights or alarmsto indicate to the operator of the vehicle the seated state of thepassenger. The system that has been here described for the passengerside is also applicable for the most part for the driver side.

An alternate and preferred method of accomplishing the functionperformed by the gate circuit is to use a modular neural network. Inthis case, the first level neural network is trained on determiningwhether the seat is occupied or vacant. The input to this neural networkconsists of all of the data points described above. Since the onlyfunction of this neural network is to ascertain occupancy, the accuracyof this neural network is very high. If this neural network determinesthat the seat is not vacant, then the second level neural networkdetermines the occupancy state of the seat.

In this embodiment, although the neural network 65 has been employed asan evaluation circuit, the mapping data of the coefficients of acorrelation function may also be implemented or transferred to amicrocomputer to constitute the evaluation circuit (see Step S8 in FIG.12).

According to the seated-state detecting unit of the present invention,the identification of a vacant seat (VACANT), a rear facing child seat(RFCS), a forward facing child seat (FFCS), a normally seated adultpassenger (NSP), an abnormally seated adult passenger (ASP), can bereliably performed. Based on this identification, it is possible tocontrol a component, system or subsystem in the vehicle. For example, aregulation valve which controls the inflation or deflation of an airbagmay be controlled based on the evaluated identification of the occupantof the seat. This regulation valve may be of the digital or analog type.A digital regulation valve is one that is in either of two states, openor closed. The control of the flow is then accomplished by varying thetime that the valve is open and closed, i.e., the duty cycle.

The neural network has been previously trained on a significant numberof occupants of the passenger compartment. The number of such occupantsdepends strongly on whether the driver or the passenger seat is beinganalyzed. The variety of seating states or occupancies of the passengerseat is vastly greater than that of the driver seat. For the driverseat, a typical training set will consist of approximately 100 differentvehicle occupancies. For the passenger seat, this number can exceed1000. These numbers are used for illustration purposes only and willdiffer significantly from vehicle model to vehicle model. Of course manyvectors of data will be taken for each occupancy as the occupant assumesdifferent positions and postures.

The neural network is now used to determine which of the storedoccupancies most closely corresponds to the measured data. The output ofthe neural network can be an index of the setup that was used duringtraining that most closely matches the current measured state. Thisindex can be used to locate stored information from the matched trainedoccupancy. Information that has been stored for the trained occupancytypically includes the locus of the centers of the chest and head of thedriver, as well as the approximate radius of pixels which is associatedwith this center to define the head area, for example. For the case ofFIG. 8A, it is now known from this exercise where the head, chest, andperhaps the eyes and ears, of the driver are most likely to be locatedand also which pixels should be tracked in order to know the preciseposition of the driver's head and chest. What has been described aboveis the identification process for automobile occupancy and is onlyrepresentative of the general process. A similar procedure, althoughusually simpler with fewer steps, is applicable to other vehiclemonitoring cases.

The use of trainable pattern recognition technologies such as neuralnetworks is an important part of the some of the inventions disclosesherein particularly for the automobile occupancy case, although othernon-trained pattern recognition systems such as fuzzy logic,correlation, Kalman filters, and sensor fusion can also be used. Thesetechnologies are implemented using computer programs to analyze thepatterns of examples to determine the differences between differentcategories of objects. These computer programs are derived using a setof representative data collected during the training phase, called thetraining set. After training, the computer programs output a computeralgorithm containing the rules permitting classification of the objectsof interest based on the data obtained after installation in thevehicle. These rules, in the form of an algorithm, are implemented inthe system that is mounted onto the vehicle. The determination of theserules is important to the pattern recognition techniques used in atleast one of the inventions disclosed herein. Artificial neural networksusing back propagation are thus far the most successful of the ruledetermination approaches, however, research is underway to developsystems with many of the advantages of back propagation neural networks,such as learning by training, without the disadvantages, such as theinability to understand the network and the possibility of notconverging to the best solution. In particular, back propagation neuralnetworks will frequently give an unreasonable response when presentedwith data than is not within the training data. It is well known thatneural networks are good at interpolation but poor at extrapolation. Acombined neural network fuzzy logic system, on the other hand, cansubstantially solve this problem. Additionally, there are many otherneural network systems in addition to back propagation. In fact, onetype of neural network may be optimum for identifying the contents ofthe passenger compartment and another for determining the location ofthe object dynamically.

Numerous books and articles, including more that 500 U.S. patents,describe neural networks in great detail and thus the theory andapplication of this technology is well known and will not be repeatedhere. Except in a few isolated situations where neural networks havebeen used to solve particular problems limited to engine control, forexample, they have not previously been applied to automobiles, trucks orother vehicle monitoring situations.

The system generally used in the instant invention, therefore, for thedetermination of the presence of a rear facing child seat, an occupant,or an empty seat is the artificial neural network or a neural-fuzzysystem. In this case, the network operates on the returned signals froma CCD or CMOS array as sensed by transducers 49, 50, 51 and 54 in FIG.8D, for example. For the case of the front passenger seat, for example,through a training session, the system is taught to differentiatebetween the three cases. This is done by conducting a large number ofexperiments where available child seats are placed in numerous positionsand orientations on the front passenger seat of the vehicle.

Once the network is determined, it is possible to examine the result todetermine, from the algorithm created by the neural network software,the rules that were finally arrived at by the trial and error trainingtechnique. In that case, the rules can then be programmed into amicroprocessor. Alternately, a neural computer can be used to implementthe neural network directly. In either case, the implementation can becarried out by those skilled in the art of pattern recognition usingneural networks. If a microprocessor is used, a memory device is alsorequired to store the data from the analog to digital converters whichdigitize the data from the receiving transducers. On the other hand, ifa neural network computer is used, the analog signal can be fed directlyfrom the transducers to the neural network input nodes and anintermediate memory is not required. Memory of some type is needed tostore the computer programs in the case of the microprocessor system andif the neural computer is used for more than one task, a memory isneeded to store the network specific values associated with each task.

A review of the literature on neural networks yields the conclusion thatthe use of such a large training set is unique in the neural networkfield. The rule of thumb for neural networks is that there must be atleast three training cases for each network weight. Thus, for example,if a neural network has 156 input nodes, 10 first hidden layer nodes, 5second hidden layer nodes, and one output node this results in a totalof 1,622 weights. According to conventional theory 5000 trainingexamples should be sufficient. It is highly unexpected, therefore, thatgreater accuracy would be achieved through 100 times that many cases. Itis thus not obvious and cannot be deduced from the neural networkliterature that the accuracy of the system will improve substantially asthe size of the training database increases even to tens of thousands ofcases. It is also not obvious looking at the plots of the vectorsobtained using ultrasonic transducers that increasing the number oftests or the database size will have such a significant effect on thesystem accuracy. Each of the vectors is typically a rather course plotwith a few significant peaks and valleys. Since the spatial resolutionof an ultrasonic system is typically about 2 to 4 inches, it is onceagain surprising that such a large database is required to achievesignificant accuracy improvements.

The back propagation neural network is a very successful general-purposenetwork. However, for some applications, there are other neural networkarchitectures that can perform better. If it has been found, forexample, that a parallel network as described above results in asignificant improvement in the system, then, it is likely that theparticular neural network architecture chosen has not been successful inretrieving all of the information that is present in the data. In such acase, an RCE, Stochastic, Logicon Projection, cellular, support vectormachine or one of the other approximately 30 types of neural networkarchitectures can be tried to see if the results improve. This parallelnetwork test, therefore, is a valuable tool for determining the degreeto which the current neural network is capable of using efficiently theavailable data.

One of the salient features of neural networks is their ability of findpatterns in data regardless of its source. Neural networks work wellwith data from ultrasonic sensors, optical imagers, strain gage andbladder weight sensors, temperature sensors, chemical sensors, radiationsensors, pressure sensors, electric field sensors, capacitance basedsensors, any other wave sensors including the entire electromagneticspectrum, etc. If data from any sensors can be digitized and fed into aneural network generating program and if there is information in thepattern of the data then neural networks can be a viable method ofidentifying those patterns and correlating them with a desired outputfunction. Note that although the inventions disclosed herein preferablyuse neural networks and combination neural networks to be describednext, these inventions are not limited to this form or method of patternrecognition. The major breakthrough in occupant sensing came with therecognition by the current assignee that ordinary analysis usingmathematical equations where the researcher looks at the data andattempts, based on the principles of statistics, engineering or physics,to derive the relevant relationships between the data and the categoryand location of an occupying item, is not the proper approach and thatpattern recognition technologies should be used. This is believed to bethe first use of such pattern recognition technologies in the automobilesafety and monitoring fields with the exception that neural networkshave been used by the current assignee and others as the basis of acrash sensor algorithm and by certain automobile manufacturers forengine control. Note for many monitoring situations in truck trailers,cargo containers and railroad cars where questions such as “is thereanything in the vehicle?” are asked, neural networks may not always berequired.

7. Other Products, Outputs, Features

Once the occupancy state of the seat (or seats) in the vehicle or of thevehicle itself, as in a cargo container, truck trailer or railroad car,is known, this information can be used to control or affect theoperation of a significant number of vehicular systems, components anddevices. That is, the systems, components and devices in the vehicle canbe controlled and perhaps their operation optimized in consideration ofthe occupancy of the seat(s) in the vehicle or of the vehicle itself.Thus, the vehicle includes control means coupled to the processor meansfor controlling a component or device in the vehicle in consideration ofthe output indicative of the current occupancy state of the seatobtained from the processor means. The component or device can be anairbag system including at least one deployable airbag whereby thedeployment of the airbag is suppressed, for example, if the seat isoccupied by a rear-facing child seat, or otherwise the parameters of thedeployment are controlled. Thus, the seated-state detecting unitdescribed above may be used in a component adjustment system and methoddescribed below when the presence of a human being occupying the seat isdetected. The component can also be a telematics system such as theSkybitz or OnStar systems where information about the occupancy state ofthe vehicle, or changes in that state, can be sent to a remote site.

The component adjustment system and methods in accordance with theinvention can automatically and passively adjust the component based onthe morphology of the occupant of the seat. As noted above, theadjustment system may include the seated-state detecting unit describedabove so that it will be activated if the seated-state detecting unitdetects that an adult or child occupant is seated on the seat, that is,the adjustment system will not operate if the seat is occupied by achild seat, pet or inanimate objects. Obviously, the same system can beused for any seat in the vehicle including the driver seat and thepassenger seat(s). This adjustment system may incorporate the samecomponents as the seated-state detecting unit described above, that is,the same components may constitute a part of both the seated-statedetecting unit and the adjustment system, for example, the weightmeasuring system.

The adjustment system described herein, although improved over the priorart, will at best be approximate since two people, even if they areidentical in all other respects, may have a different preferred drivingposition or other preferred adjusted component location or orientation.A system that automatically adjusts the component, therefore, shouldlearn from its errors. Thus, when a new occupant sits in the vehicle,for example, the system automatically estimates the best location of thecomponent for that occupant and moves the component to that location,assuming it is not already at the best location. If the occupant changesthe location, the system should remember that change and incorporate itinto the adjustment the next time that person enters the vehicle and isseated in the same seat. Therefore, the system need not make a perfectselection the first time but it should remember the person and theposition the component was in for that person. The system, therefore,makes one, two or three measurements of morphological characteristics ofthe occupant and then adjusts the component based on an algorithm. Theoccupant will correct the adjustment and the next time that the systemmeasures the same measurements for those measurement characteristics, itwill set the component to the corrected position. As such, preferredcomponents for which the system in accordance with the invention is mostuseful are those which affect a driver of the vehicle and relate to thesensory abilities of the driver, i.e., the mirrors, the seat, thesteering wheel and steering column and accelerator, clutch and brakepedals.

Thus, although the above description mentions that the airbag system canbe controlled by the control circuitry 20 (FIG. 1), any vehicularsystem, component or subsystem can be controlled based on theinformation or data obtained by transmitter and/or receiver assemblies6, 8, 9 and 10. Control circuitry 20 can be programmed or trained, iffor example a neural network is used, to control heating anair-conditioning systems based on the presence of occupants in certainpositions so as to optimize the climate control in the vehicle. Theentertainment system can also be controlled to provide sound only tolocations at which occupants are situated. There is no limit to thenumber and type of vehicular systems, components and subsystems that canbe controlled using the analysis techniques described herein.

Furthermore, if multiple vehicular systems are to be controlled bycontrol circuitry 20, then these systems can be controlled by thecontrol circuitry 20 based on the status of particular components of thevehicle. For example, an indication of whether a key is in the ignitioncan be used to direct the control circuitry 20 to either control anairbag system (when the key is present in the ignition) or an antitheftsystem (when the key is not present in the ignition). Control circuitry20 would thus be responsive to the status of the ignition of the motorvehicle to perform one of a plurality of different functions. Moreparticularly, the pattern recognition algorithm, such as the neuralnetwork described herein, could itself be designed to perform in adifferent way depending on the status of a vehicular component such asthe detected presence of a key in the ignition. It could provide oneoutput to control an antitheft system when a key is not present andanother output when a key is present using the same inputs from thetransmitter and/or receiver assemblies 6, 8, 9 and 10.

The algorithm in control circuitry 20 can also be designed to determinethe location of the occupant's eyes either directly or indirectlythrough a determination of the location of the occupant and anestimation of the position of the eyes therefrom. As such, the positionof the rear view mirror 55 can be adjusted to optimize the driver's usethereof.

7.1 Control of Passive Restraints

The use of the vehicle interior monitoring system to control thedeployment of an airbag is discussed in detail in U.S. Pat. No.5,653,462 referenced above. In that case, the control is based on theuse of a pattern recognition system, such as a neural network, todifferentiate between the occupant and his extremities in order toprovide an accurate determination of the position of the occupantrelative to the airbag. If the occupant is sufficiently close to theairbag module that he is more likely to be injured by the deploymentitself than by the accident, the deployment of the airbag is suppressed.This process is carried further by the interior monitoring systemdescribed herein in that the nature or identity of the object occupyingthe vehicle seat is used to contribute to the airbag deploymentdecision. FIG. 4 shows a side view illustrating schematically theinterface between the vehicle interior monitoring system of at least oneof the inventions disclosed herein and the vehicle airbag system 44. Asimilar system can be provided for the passenger as described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/151,615 filed May 20, 2002.

In this embodiment, ultrasonic transducers 8 and 9 transmit bursts ofultrasonic waves that travel to the occupant where they are reflectedback to transducers or receptors/receivers 8 and 9. The time periodrequired for the waves to travel from the generator and return is usedto determine the distance from the occupant to the airbag as describedin the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462, i.e., and thus may alsobe used to determine the position or location of the occupant. Anoptical imager based system would also be appropriate. In the invention,however, the portion of the return signal that represents the occupants'head or chest, has been determined based on pattern recognitiontechniques such as a neural network. The relative velocity of theoccupant toward the airbag can then be determined, by Doppler principlesor from successive position measurements, which permits a sufficientlyaccurate prediction of the time when the occupant would become proximateto the airbag. By comparing the occupant relative velocity to theintegral of the crash deceleration pulse, a determination as to whetherthe occupant is being restrained by a seatbelt can also be made whichthen can affect the airbag deployment initiation decision. Alternately,the mere knowledge that the occupant has moved a distance that would notbe possible if he were wearing a seatbelt gives information that he isnot wearing one.

Another method of providing a significant improvement to the problem ofdetermining the position of the occupant during vehicle deceleration isto input the vehicle deceleration directly into the occupant sensingsystem. This can be done through the use of the airbag crash sensoraccelerometer or a dedicated accelerometer can be used. Thisdeceleration or its integral can be entered directly into the neuralnetwork or can be integrated through an additional post-processingalgorithm. Post processing in general is discussed in section 11.7. Onesignificant advantage of neural networks is their ability to efficientlyuse information from any source. It is the ultimate “sensor fusion”system.

A more detailed discussion of this process and of the advantages of thevarious technologies, such as acoustic or electromagnetic, can be foundin SAE paper 940527, “Vehicle Occupant Position Sensing” by Breed etal., In this paper, it is demonstrated that the time delay required foracoustic waves to travel to the occupant and return does not prevent theuse of acoustics for position measurement of occupants during the crashevent. For position measurement and for many pattern recognitionapplications, ultrasonics is the preferred technology due to the lack ofadverse health effects and the low cost of ultrasonic systems comparedwith either camera, laser or radar based systems. This situation haschanged, however, as the cost of imagers has come down. The mainlimiting feature of ultrasonics is the wavelength, which places alimitation on the size of features that can be discerned. Opticalsystems, for example, are required when the identification of particularindividuals is desired.

FIG. 26 is a schematic drawing of one embodiment of an occupantrestraint device control system in accordance with the invention. Thefirst step is to obtain information about the contents of the seat atstep 338, when such contents are present on the seat. To this end, apresence sensor can be employed to activate the system only when thepresence of an object, or living being, is detected. Next, at step 339,a signal is generated based on the contents of the seat, with differentsignals being generated for different contents of the seat. Thus, whilea signal for a dog will be different than the signal for a child set,the signals for different child seats will not be that different. Next,at step 340, the signal is analyzed to determine whether a child seat ispresent, whether a child seat in a particular orientation is presentand/or whether a child seat in a particular position is present.Deployment control 341 provides a deployment control signal or commandbased on the analysis of the signal generated based on the contents ofthe seat. This signal or command is directed to the occupant protectionor restraint device 342 to provide for deployment for that particularcontent of the seat. The system continually obtains information aboutthe contents of the seat until such time as a deployment signal isreceived from, e.g., a crash sensor, to initiate deployment of theoccupant restraint device.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart of the operation of one embodiment of anoccupant restraint device control method in accordance with theinvention. The first step is to determine whether contents are presenton the seat at step 910. If so, information is obtained about thecontents of the seat at step 344. At step 345, a signal is generatedbased on the contents of the seat, with different signals beinggenerated for different contents of the seat. The signal is analyzed todetermine whether a child seat is present at step 346, whether a childseat in a particular orientation is present at step 347 and/or whether achild seat in a particular position is present at step 348. Deploymentcontrol 349 provides a deployment control signal or command based on theanalysis of the signal generated based on the contents of the seat. Thissignal or command is directed to the occupant protection or restraintdevice 350 to provide for deployment for those particular contents ofthe seat. The system continually obtains information about the contentsof the seat until such time as a deployment signal is received from,e.g., a crash sensor 351, to initiate deployment of the occupantrestraint device.

In another implementation, the sensor algorithm may determine the ratethat gas is generated to affect the rate that the airbag is inflated. Inall of these cases, the position of the occupant is used to affect thedeployment of the airbag either as to whether or not it should bedeployed at all, the time of deployment and/or the rate of inflationand/or deflation.

Such a system can also be used to positively identify or confirm thepresence of a rear facing child seat in the vehicle, if the child seatis equipped with a resonator. In this case, a resonator 18 is placed onthe forward most portion of the child seat, or in some other convenientposition, as shown in FIG. 1. The resonator 18, or other type of signalgenerating device, such as an RFID tag, which generates a signal uponexcitation, e.g., by a transmitted energy signal, can be used not onlyto determine the orientation of the child seat but also to determine theposition of the child seat (in essentially the same manner as describedabove with respect to determining the position of the seat and theposition of the seatbelt).

The determination of the presence of a child seat can be used to affectanother system in the vehicle. Most importantly, deployment of anoccupant restraint device can be controlled depending on whether a childseat is present. Control of the occupant restraint device may entailsuppression of deployment of the device. If the occupant restraintdevice is an airbag, e.g., a frontal airbag or a side airbag, control ofthe airbag deployment may entail not only suppression of the deploymentbut also depowered deployment, adjustment of the orientation of theairbag, adjustment of the inflation rate or inflation time and/oradjustment of the deflation rate or time.

Several systems are in development for determining the location of anoccupant and modifying the deployment of the airbag based of his or herposition. These systems are called “smart airbags”. The passive seatcontrol system in accordance with at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein can also be used for this purpose as illustrated inFIG. 28. This figure shows an inflated airbag 352 and an arrangement forcontrolling both the flow of gas into and out of the airbag during acrash. The determination is made based on height sensors 353, 354 and355 (FIG. 49) located in the headrest, a weight sensor 252 in the seatand the location of the seat which is known by control circuit 254.Other smart airbags systems rely only on the position of the occupantdetermined from various position sensors using ultrasonics or opticalsensors, or equivalent.

The weight sensor coupled with the height sensor and the occupant'svelocity relative to the vehicle, as determined by the occupant positionsensors, provides information as to the amount of energy that the airbagwill need to absorb during the impact of the occupant with the airbag.This, along with the location of the occupant relative to the airbag, isthen used to determine the amount of gas that is to be injected into theairbag during deployment and the size of the exit orifices that controlthe rate of energy dissipation as the occupant is interacting with theairbag during the crash. For example, if an occupant is particularlyheavy then it is desirable to increase the amount of gas, and thus theinitial pressure, in the airbag to accommodate the larger force whichwill be required to arrest the relative motion of the occupant. Also,the size of the exit orifices should be reduced, since there will be alarger pressure tending to force the gas out of the orifices, in orderto prevent the bag from bottoming out before the occupant's relativevelocity is arrested. Similarly, for a small occupant the initialpressure would be reduced and the size of the exit orifices increased.If, on the other hand, the occupant is already close to the airbag thenthe amount of gas injected into the airbag will need to be reduced.

Another and preferred approach is to incorporate an accelerometer intothe seatbelt or the airbag surface and to measure the deceleration ofthe occupant and to control the outflow of gas from the airbag tomaintain the occupant's chest acceleration below some maximum value suchas 40 Gs. This maximum value can be set based on the forecasted severityof the crash. If the occupant is wearing a seatbelt the outflow from theairbag can be significantly reduced since the seatbelt is taking up mostof the load and the airbag then should be used to help spread the loadover more of the occupant's chest. Although the pressure in the airbagis one indication of the deceleration being imparted to the occupant itis a relatively crude measure since it does not take into account themass of the occupant. Since it is acceleration that should be controlledit is better to measure acceleration rather than pressure in the airbag.

There are many ways of varying the amount of gas injected into theairbag some of which are covered in the patent literature and include,for example, inflators where the amount of gas generated and the rate ofgeneration is controllable. For example, in a particular hybrid inflatoronce manufactured by the Allied Signal Corporation, two pyrotechniccharges are available to heat the stored gas in the inflator. Either orboth of the pyrotechnic charges can be ignited and the timing betweenthe ignitions can be controlled to significantly vary the rate of gasflow to the airbag.

The flow of gas out of the airbag is traditionally done through fixeddiameter orifices placed in the bag fabric. Some attempts have been madeto provide a measure of control through such measures as blowout patchesapplied to the exterior of the airbag. Other systems were disclosed inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/541,464 filed Feb. 9, 1989, nowabandoned.

FIG. 28A illustrates schematically an inflator 357 generating gas tofill airbag 352 through control valve 358. If the control valve 358 isclosed while a pyrotechnic generator is operating, provision must bemade to store or dump the gas being generated so to prevent the inflatorfrom failing from excess pressure. The flow of gas out of airbag 352 iscontrolled by exit control valve 359. The exit valve 359 can beimplemented in many different ways including, for example, a motoroperated valve located adjacent the inflator and in fluid communicationwith the airbag or a digital flow control valve as discussed elsewhereherein. When control circuit 254 (FIG. 49) determines the size andweight of the occupant, the seat position and the relative velocity ofthe occupant, it then determines the appropriate opening for the exitvalve 359, which is coupled to the control circuit 254. A signal is thensent from control circuit 254 to the motor controlling this valve whichprovides the proper opening.

Consider, for example, the case of a vehicle that impacts with a pole orbrush in front of a barrier. The crash sensor system may deduce thatthis is a low velocity crash and only initiate the first inflatorcharge. Then as the occupant is moving close to the airbag the barrieris struck but it may now be too late to get the benefit of the secondcharge. For this case, a better solution might be to always generate themaximum amount of gas but to store the excess in a supplemental chamberuntil it is needed.

In a like manner, other parameters can also be adjusted, such as thedirection of the airbag, by properly positioning the angle and locationof the steering wheel relative to the driver. If seatbelt pretensionersare used, the amount of tension in the seatbelt or the force at whichthe seatbelt spools out, for the case of force limiters, could also beadjusted based on the occupant morphological characteristics determinedby the system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein. Theforce measured on the seatbelt, if the vehicle deceleration is known,gives a confirmation of the mass of the occupant. This force measurementcan also be used to control the chest acceleration given to the occupantto minimize injuries caused by the seatbelt. Naturally, as discussedabove, it is better to measure the acceleration of the chest directly.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8A, transmitter/receiver assemblies 49,50, 51 and 54 emit infrared waves that reflect off of the head and chestof the driver and return thereto. Periodically, the device, as commandedby control circuitry 20, transmits a pulse of infrared waves and thereflected signal is detected by the same (i.e. the LEDs and imager arein the same housing) or a different device. The transmitters can eithertransmit simultaneously or sequentially. An associated electroniccircuit and algorithm in control circuitry 20 processes the returnedsignals as discussed above and determines the location of the occupantin the passenger compartment. This information is then sent to the crashsensor and diagnostic circuitry, which may also be resident in controlcircuitry 20 (programmed within a control module), which determines ifthe occupant is close enough to the airbag that a deployment might, byitself, cause injury which exceeds that which might be caused by theaccident itself. In such a case, the circuit disables the airbag systemand thereby prevents its deployment.

In an alternate case, the sensor algorithm assesses the probability thata crash requiring an airbag is in process and waits until thatprobability exceeds an amount that is dependent on the position of theoccupant. Thus, for example, the sensor might decide to deploy theairbag based on a need probability assessment of 50%, if the decisionmust be made immediately for an occupant approaching the airbag, butmight wait until the probability rises above 95% for a more distantoccupant. In the alternative, the crash sensor and diagnostic circuitryoptionally resident in control circuitry 20 may tailor the parameters ofthe deployment (time to initiation of deployment, rate of inflation,rate of deflation, deployment time, etc.) based on the current positionand possibly velocity of the occupant, for example a depowereddeployment.

In another implementation, the sensor algorithm may determine the ratethat gas is generated to affect the rate that the airbag is inflated.One method of controlling the gas generation rate is to control thepressure in the inflator combustion chamber. The higher the internalpressure the faster gas is generated. Once a method of controlling thegas combustion pressure is implemented, the capability exists tosignificantly reduce the variation in inflator properties withtemperature. At lower temperatures the pressure control system wouldincrease the pressure in the combustion chamber and at higher ambienttemperatures it would reduce the pressure. In all of these cases, theposition of the occupant can be used to affect the deployment of theairbag as to whether or not it should be deployed at all, the time ofdeployment and/or the rate of inflation.

The applications described herein have been illustrated using the driverand sometimes the passenger of the vehicle. The same systems ofdetermining the position of the occupant relative to the airbag apply toa driver, front and rear seated passengers, sometimes requiring minormodifications. It is likely that the sensor required triggering timebased on the position of the occupant will be different for the driverthan for the passenger. Current systems are based primarily on thedriver with the result that the probability of injury to the passengeris necessarily increased either by deploying the airbag too late or byfailing to deploy the airbag when the position of the driver would notwarrant it but the passenger's position would. With the use of occupantposition sensors for the passenger and driver, the airbag system can beindividually optimized for each occupant and result in furthersignificant injury reduction. In particular, either the driver orpassenger system can be disabled if either the driver or passenger isout-of-position or if the passenger seat is unoccupied.

There is almost always a driver present in vehicles that are involved inaccidents where an airbag is needed. Only about 30% of these vehicles,however, have a passenger. If the passenger is not present, there isusually no need to deploy the passenger side airbag. The occupantmonitoring system, when used for the passenger side with proper patternrecognition circuitry, can also ascertain whether or not the seat isoccupied, and if not, can disable the deployment of the passenger sideairbag and thereby save the cost of its replacement. The same strategyapplies also for monitoring the rear seat of the vehicle. Also, atrainable pattern recognition system, as used herein, can distinguishbetween an occupant and a bag of groceries, for example. Finally, therehas been much written about the out-of-position child who is standing orotherwise positioned adjacent to the airbag, perhaps due to pre-crashbraking. The occupant position sensor described herein can prevent thedeployment of the airbag in this situation as well as in the situationof a rear facing child seat as described above.

Naturally as discussed elsewhere herein, occupant sensors can also beused for monitoring the rear seats of the vehicle for the purpose, amongothers, of controlling airbag or other restraint deployment.

7.2 Seat, Seatbelt, Steering Wheel and Pedal Adjustment

Let us now consider the adjustment of a seat to adapt to an occupant.First some measurements of the morphological properties of the occupantare necessary. The first characteristic considered is a measurement ofthe height of the occupant from the vehicle seat. This can be done by asensor in the ceiling of the vehicle but this becomes difficult since,even for the same seat location, the head of the occupant will not be atthe same angle with respect to the seat and therefore the angle to aceiling mounted sensor is in general unknown at least as long as onlyone ceiling mounted sensor is used. This problem can be solved if two orthree sensors are used as described in more detail below. The simplestimplementation is to place the sensor in the seat. In U.S. Pat. No.5,694,320, a rear impact occupant protection apparatus is disclosedwhich uses sensors mounted within the headrest. This same system canalso be used to measure the height of the occupant from the seat andthus, for no additional cost assuming the rear impact occupantprotection system described in the '320 patent is provided, the firstmeasure of the occupant's morphology can be achieved. See also FIGS. 24and 25. For some applications, this may be sufficient since it isunlikely that two operators will use the vehicle that both have the sameheight. For other implementations, one or more additional measurementsare used. Naturally, a face, fingerprint, voiceprint or iris recognitionsystem will have the least problem identifying a previous occupant.

Referring now to FIG. 24, an automatic adjustment system for adjusting aseat (which is being used only as an example of a vehicle component) isshown generally at 371 with a movable headrest 356 and ultrasonicsensors 353, 354 and 355 for measuring the height of the occupant of theseat. Other types of wave, energy or radiation receiving sensors mayalso be used in the invention instead of the ultrasonictransmitter/receiver set 353, 354, 355. Power means such as motors 371,372, and 373 connected to the seat for moving the base of the seat,control means such as a control circuit, system or module 254 connectedto the motors and a headrest actuation mechanism using servomotors 374and 375, which may be servomotors, are also illustrated. The seat 4 andheadrest 356 are shown in phantom. Vertical motion of the headrest 356is accomplished when a signal is sent from control module 254 toservomotor 374 through a wire 376. Servomotor 374 rotates lead screw 377which engages with a threaded hole in member 378 causing it to move upor down depending on the direction of rotation of the lead screw 377.Headrest support rods 379 and 380 are attached to member 378 and causethe headrest 356 to translate up or down with member 378. In thismanner, the vertical position of the headrest can be controlled asdepicted by arrow A-A. Ultrasonic transmitters and receivers 353, 354,355 may be replaced by other appropriate wave-generating and receivingdevices, such as electromagnetic, active infrared transmitters andreceivers, and capacitance sensors and electric field sensors.

Wire 381 leads from control module 254 to servomotor 375 which rotateslead screw 382. Lead screw 382 engages with a threaded hole in shaft 383which is attached to supporting structures within the seat shown inphantom. The rotation of lead screw 382 rotates servo motor support 384,upon which servomotor 374 is situated, which in turn rotates headrestsupport rods 379 and 380 in slots 385 and 386 in the seat 4. Rotation ofthe servomotor support 384 is facilitated by a rod 387 upon which theservo motor support 384 is positioned. In this manner, the headrest 356is caused to move in the fore and aft direction as depicted by arrowB-B. Naturally there are other designs which accomplish the same effectin moving the headrest up and down and fore and aft.

The operation of the system is as follows. When an adult or childoccupant is seated on a seat containing the headrest and control systemdescribed above as determined by the neural network 65, the ultrasonictransmitters 353, 354 and 355 emit ultrasonic energy which reflects offof the head of the occupant and is received by the same transducers. Anelectronic circuit in control module 254 contains a microprocessor whichdetermines the distance from the head of the occupant based on the timebetween the transmission and reception of the ultrasonic pulses. In theembodiment wherein capacitance or electric field sensors are usedinstead of ultrasonic transducers, the manner in which the distance canbe determined using such sensors is known to those skilled in the art.

Control module 254 may be within the same microprocessor as neuralnetwork 65 or separate therefrom. The headrest 356 moves up and downuntil it finds the top of the head and then the vertical positionclosest to the head of the occupant and then remains at that position.Based on the time delay between transmission and reception of anultrasonic pulse, the system can also determine the longitudinaldistance from the headrest to the occupant's head. Since the head maynot be located precisely in line with the ultrasonic sensors, or theoccupant may be wearing a hat, coat with a high collar, or may have alarge hairdo, there may be some error in this longitudinal measurement.

When an occupant sits on seat 4, the headrest 356 moves to find the topof the occupant's head as discussed above. This is accomplished using analgorithm and a microprocessor which is part of control circuit 254. Theheadrest 356 then moves to the optimum location for rear impactprotection as described in the above referenced '320 patent. Once theheight of the occupant has been measured, another algorithm in themicroprocessor in control circuit 254 compares the occupant's measuredheight with a table representing the population as a whole and from thistable, the appropriate positions for the seat corresponding to theoccupant's height is selected. For example, if the occupant measured 33inches from the top of the seat bottom, this might correspond to an 85%human, depending on the particular seat and statistical table of humanmeasurements.

Careful study of each particular vehicle model provides the data for thetable of the location of the seat to properly position the eyes of theoccupant within the “eye-ellipse”, the steering wheel within acomfortable reach of the occupant's hands and the pedals within acomfortable reach of the occupant's feet, based on his or her size, etc.Of course one or more pedals can be manually adjusted providing they areprovided with an actuator such as an electric motor and any suchadjustment, either manual or automatic, is contemplated by theinventions disclosed herein.

Once the proper position has been determined by control circuit 254,signals are sent to motors 371, 372, and 373 to move the seat to thatposition, if such movement is necessary. That is, it is possible thatthe seat will be in the proper position so that movement of the seat isnot required. As such, the position of the motors 371,372,373 and/or theposition of the seat prior to occupancy by the occupant may be stored inmemory so that after occupancy by the occupant and determination of thedesired position of the seat, a comparison is made to determine whetherthe desired position of the seat deviates from the current position ofthe seat. If not, movement of the seat is not required. Otherwise, thesignals are sent by the control circuit 254 to the motors. In this case,control circuit 254 would encompass a seat controller.

Instead of adjusting the seat to position the driver in an optimumdriving position, or for use when adjusting the seat of a passenger, itis possible to perform the adjustment with a view toward optimizing theactuation or deployment of an occupant protection or restraint device.For example, after obtaining one or more morphological characteristicsof the occupant, the processor can analyze them and determine one ormore preferred positions of the seat, with the position of the seatbeing related to the position of the occupant, so that if the occupantprotection device is deployed, the occupant will be in an advantageousposition to be protected against injury by such deployment. In this casethen, the seat is adjusted based on the morphology of the occupant viewa view toward optimizing deployment of the occupant protection device.The processor is provided in a training or programming stage with thepreferred seat positions for different morphologies of occupants.

Movement of the seat can take place either immediately upon the occupantsitting in the seat or immediately prior to a crash requiring deploymentof the occupant protection device. In the latter case, if ananticipatory sensing arrangement is used, the seat can be positionedimmediately prior to the impact, much in a similar manner as theheadrest is adjusted for a rear impact as disclosed in the '320 patentreferenced above.

If during some set time period after the seat has been positioned, theoperator changes these adjustments, the new positions of the seat arestored in association with an occupant height class in a second tablewithin control circuit 254. When the occupant again occupies the seatand his or her height has once again been determined, the controlcircuit 254 will find an entry in the second table which takesprecedence over the basic, original table and the seat returns to theadjusted position. When the occupant leaves the vehicle, or even whenthe engine is shut off and the door opened, the seat can be returned toa neutral position which provides for easy entry and exit from thevehicle.

The seat 4 also contains two control switch assemblies 388 and 389 formanually controlling the position of the seat 4 and headrest 356. Theseat control switches 388 permits the occupant to adjust the position ofthe seat if he or she is dissatisfied with the position selected by thealgorithm. The headrest control switches 389 permit the occupant toadjust the position of the headrest in the event that the calculatedposition is uncomfortably close to or far from the occupant's head. Awoman with a large hairdo might find that the headrest automaticallyadjusts so as to contact her hairdo. This adjustment she might findannoying and could then position the headrest further from her head. Forthose vehicles which have a seat memory system for associating the seatposition with a particular occupant, which has been assumed above, theposition of the headrest relative to the occupant's head could also berecorded. Later, when the occupant enters the vehicle, and the seatautomatically adjusts to the recorded preference, the headrest willsimilarly automatically adjust as diagrammed in FIGS. 29A and 29B.

The height of the occupant, although probably the best initialmorphological characteristic, may not be sufficient especially fordistinguishing one driver from another when they are approximately thesame height. A second characteristic, the occupant's weight, can also bereadily determined from sensors mounted within the seat in a variety ofways as shown in FIG. 18 which is a perspective view of the seat shownin FIG. 24 with a displacement or weight sensor 159 shown mounted ontothe seat.

Displacement sensor 159 is supported from supports 165. In general,displacement sensor 164, or another non-displacement sensor, measures aphysical state of a component affected by the occupancy of the seat. Anoccupying item of the seat will cause a force to be exerted downward andthe magnitude of this force is representative of the weight of theoccupying item. Thus, by measuring this force, information about theweight of the occupying item can be obtained. A physical state may beany force changed by the occupancy of the seat and which is reflected inthe component, e.g., strain of a component, compression of a component,tension of a component. Naturally other weight measuring systems asdescribed herein and elsewhere including bladders and strain gages canbe used.

An alternative approach is to measure the load on the vehicle suspensionsystem while the vehicle is at rest (static) or when it is in motion(dynamic). The normal empty state of the vehicle can be determined whenthe vehicle is at rest for a prolonged time period. After then thenumber and location of occupying items can be determined by measuringthe increased load on the suspension devices that attach the vehiclebody to its frame. SAW strain measuring elements can be placed on eachsuspension spring, for example, and used to measure the increased loadon the vehicle as an object or occupant is placed in the vehicle. Thisapproach has the advantage that it is not affected by seatbelt loadings,for example. If the vehicle is monitored as each item is paced in thevehicle a characterization of that item can be made. The taking on offuel, for example, will correspond to a particular loading pattern overtime that will permit the identification of the amount of the weight onthe suspension that can be attributed to fuel. Dynamic measuring systemsare similar to those used in section 6.3 and thus will not be repeatedhere.

The system described above is based on the assumption that the occupantwill be satisfied with one seat position throughout an extended drivingtrip. Studies have shown that for extended travel periods that thecomfort of the driver can be improved through variations in the seatposition. This variability can be handled in several ways. For example,the amount and type of variation preferred by an occupant of theparticular morphology can be determined through case studies and focusgroups. If it is found, for example, that the 50 percentile male driverprefers the seat back angle to vary by 5 degrees sinusodially with aone-hour period, this can be programmed to the system. Since the systemknows the morphology of the driver it can decide from a lookup tablewhat is the best variability for the average driver of that morphology.The driver then can select from several preferred possibilities if, forexample, he or she wishes to have the seat back not move at all orfollow an excursion of 10 degrees over two hours.

This system provides an identification of the driver based on twomorphological characteristics which is adequate for most cases. Asadditional features of the vehicle interior identification andmonitoring system described in the above referenced patent applicationsare implemented, it will be possible to obtain additional morphologicalmeasurements of the driver which will provide even greater accuracy indriver identification. Such additional measurements include iris scans,voice prints, face recognition, fingerprints, voiceprints hand or palmprints etc. Two characteristics may not be sufficient to rely on fortheft and security purposes, however, many other driver preferences canstill be added to seat position with this level of occupant recognitionaccuracy. These include the automatic selection of a preferred radiostation, pedal position, vehicle temperature, steering wheel andsteering column position, etc.

One advantage of using only the height and weight is that it avoids thenecessity of the seat manufacturer from having to interact with theheadliner manufacturer, or other component suppliers, since all of themeasuring transducers are in the seat. This two characteristic system isgenerally sufficient to distinguish drivers that normally drive aparticular vehicle. This system costs little more than the memorysystems now in use and is passive, i.e., it does not require action onthe part of the occupant after his initial adjustment has been made.

Instead of measuring the height and weight of the occupant, it is alsopossible to measure a combination of any two morphologicalcharacteristics and during a training phase, derive a relationshipbetween the occupancy of the seat, e.g., adult occupant, child occupant,etc., and the data of the two morphological characteristic. Thisrelationship may be embodied within a neural network so that during use,by measuring the two morphological characteristics, the occupancy of theseat can be determined.

Naturally, there are other methods of measuring the height of the driversuch as placing the transducers at other locations in the vehicle. Somealternatives are shown in other figures herein and include partial sideimages of the occupant and ultrasonic transducers positioned on or nearthe vehicle headliner. These transducers may already be present becauseof other implementations of the vehicle interior identification andmonitoring system described in the above referenced patent applications.The use of several transducers provides a more accurate determination oflocation of the head of the driver. When using a headliner mountedsensor alone, the exact position of the head is ambiguous since thetransducer measures the distance to the head regardless of whatdirection the head is. By knowing the distance from the head to anotherheadliner mounted transducer the ambiguity is substantially reduced.This argument is of course dependent on the use of ultrasonictransducers. Optical transducers using CCD, CMOS or equivalent arraysare now becoming price competitive and, as pointed out in the abovereferenced patent applications, will be the technology of choice forinterior vehicle monitoring. A single CMOS array of 160 by 160 pixels,for example, coupled with the appropriate pattern recognition software,can be used to form an image of the head of an occupant and accuratelylocate the head for the purposes of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein. It can also be used with a face recognition algorithmto positively identify the occupant.

FIG. 31 also illustrates a system where the seatbelt 27 has anadjustable upper anchorage point 390 which is automatically adjusted bya motor 391 to a location optimized based on the height of the occupant.In this system, infrared transmitter and CCD array receivers 6 and 9 arepositioned in a convenient location proximate the occupant's shoulder,such as in connection with the headliner, above and usually to theoutside of the occupant's shoulder. An appropriate pattern recognitionsystem, as may be resident in control circuitry 20 to which thereceivers 6 and 9 are coupled, as described above is then used todetermine the location and position of the shoulder. This information isprovided by control circuitry 20 to the seatbelt anchorage heightadjustment system 391 (through a conventional coupling arrangement),shown schematically, which moves the attachment point 390 of theseatbelt 27 to the optimum vertical location for the proper placement ofthe seatbelt 27.

The calculations for this feature and the appropriate control circuitrycan also be located in control module 20 or elsewhere if appropriate.Seatbelts are most effective when the upper attachment point to thevehicle is positioned vertically close to the shoulder of the occupantbeing restrained. If the attachment point is too low, the occupantexperiences discomfort from the rubbing of the belt on his or hershoulder. If it is too high, the occupant may experience discomfort dueto the rubbing of the belt against his or her neck and the occupant willmove forward by a greater amount during a crash which may result in hisor her head striking the steering wheel. For these reasons, it isdesirable to have the upper seatbelt attachment point located slightlyabove the occupant's shoulder. To accomplish this for various sizedoccupants, the location of the occupant's shoulder should be known,which can be accomplished by the vehicle interior monitoring systemdescribed herein.

Many luxury automobiles today have the ability to control the angle ofthe seat back as well as a lumbar support. These additional motions ofthe seat can also be controlled by the seat adjustment system inaccordance with the invention. FIG. 32 is a view of the seat of FIG. 24showing motors 392 and 393 for changing the tilt of the seat back andthe lumbar support. Three motors 393 are used to adjust the lumbarsupport in this implementation. The same procedure is used for theseadditional motions as described for FIG. 24 above.

An initial table is provided based on the optimum positions for varioussegments of the population. For example, for some applications the tablemay contain a setting value for each five percentile of the populationfor each of the 6 possible seat motions, fore and aft, up and down,total seat tilt, seat back angle, lumbar position, and headrest positionfor a total of 120 table entries. The second table similarly wouldcontain the personal preference modified values of the 6 positionsdesired by a particular driver.

The angular resolution of a transducer is proportional to the ratio ofthe wavelength to the diameter of the transmitter. Once threetransmitters and receivers are used, the approximate equivalent singletransmitter and receiver is one which has a diameter approximately equalto the shortest distance between any pair of transducers. In this case,the equivalent diameter is equal to the distance between transmitter 354or 355 and 353. This provides far greater resolution and, by controllingthe phase between signals sent by the transmitters, the direction of theequivalent ultrasonic beam can be controlled. Thus, the head of thedriver can be scanned with great accuracy and a map made of theoccupant's head. Using this technology plus an appropriate patternrecognition algorithm, such as a neural network, an accurate location ofthe driver's head can be found even when the driver's head is partiallyobscured by a hat, coat, or hairdo. This also provides at least oneother identification morphological characteristic which can be used tofurther identify the occupant, namely the diameter of the driver's head.

In an automobile, there is an approximately fixed vertical distancebetween the optimum location of the occupant's eyes and the location ofthe pedals. The distant from a driver's eyes to his or her feet, on theother hand, is not the same for all people. An individual driver nowcompensates for this discrepancy by moving the seat and by changing theangle between his or hers legs and body. For both small and largedrivers, this discrepancy cannot be fully compensated for and as aresult, their eyes are not appropriately placed. A similar problemexists with the steering wheel. To help correct these problems, thepedals and steering column should be movable as illustrated in FIG. 33which is a plan view similar to that of FIG. 31 showing a driver anddriver seat with an automatically adjustable steering column and pedalsystem which is adjusted based on the morphology of the driver.

In FIG. 33, a motor 394 is connected to and controls the position of thesteering column and another motor 395 is connected to and controls theposition of the pedals. Both motors 394 and 395 are coupled to andcontrolled by control circuit 254 wherein now the basic table ofsettings includes values for both the pedals and steering columnlocations.

The settings may be determined through experimentation or empirically bydetermining an optimum position of the pedals and steering wheel fordrivers having different morphologies, i.e., different heights,different leg lengths, etc.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 33A, the morphology determinationsystem 430 determines one or more physical properties or characteristicsof the driver 30 which would affect the position of the steering column,e.g., leg length, height, and arm length. The determination of theseproperties may be obtained in any of the manners disclosed herein. Forexample, height may be determined using the system shown in FIG. 24. Leglength and arm length may be determined by measuring the weight, height,etc of the driver and then using a table to obtain an estimated oraverage leg length or arm length based on the measured properties. Inthe latter case, the control circuit 431 could obtain the measurementsand include data for the leg length and arm length, or would includedata on the position of the steering wheel for the measured driver,i.e., the table of settings.

In either case, the control system 431 is provided with the setting forthe steering wheel and if necessary, directs the motor 394 to move thesteering wheel to the desired position. Movement of the steering wheelis thus provided in a totally automatic manner without manualintervention by the driver, either, by adjusting a knob on the steeringwheel or by depressing a button.

Although movement of the steering wheel is shown here as beingcontrolled by a motor 394 that moves the steering column fore and aft,other methods are sometimes used in various vehicles such as changingthe tilt angle of the steering column or the tilt angle of the steeringwheel. Naturally, motors can be provided that cause these other motionsand are contemplated by at least one of the inventions disclosed hereinas is any other method that controls the position of the steering wheel.For example, FIG. 33B shows a schematic of a motor 429 which may be usedto control the tilt angle of the steering wheel relative to the steeringcolumn.

Regardless of which motor or motors are used, the invention contemplatesthe adjustment or movement of the steering wheel relative to the frontconsole of the vehicle and thus relative to the driver of the vehicle.This movement may be directly effective on the steering wheel (via motor429) or effective on the steering column and thus indirectly effectiveon the steering wheel since movement of the steering column will causemovement of the steering wheel. Additionally when the ignition is turnedoff the steering wheel and column and any other adjustable device orcomponent can be automatically moved to a more out of the way positionto permit easier ingress and egress from the vehicle, for example.

The steering wheel adjustment feature may be designed to be activatedupon detection of the presence of an object on the driver's seat. Thus,when a driver's first sits on the seat, the sensors could be designed toinitiate measurement of the driver's morphology and then control themotor or motors to adjust the steering wheel, if such adjustment isdeemed necessary. This is because an adjustment in the position of thesteering wheel is usually not required during the course of driving butis generally only required when a driver first sits in the seat. Thedetection of the presence of the driver may be achieved using the weightsensors and/or other presence detection means, such as using thewave-based sensors, capacitance sensors, electric field sensors, etc.

The eye ellipse discussed above is illustrated at 358 in FIG. 34, whichis a view showing the occupant's eyes and the seat adjusted to place theeyes at a particular vertical position for proper viewing through thewindshield and rear view mirror. Many systems are now under developmentto improve vehicle safety and driving ease. For example, night visionsystems are being sold which project an enhanced image of the road aheadof the vehicle onto the windshield in a “heads-up display”. The mainproblem with the systems now being sold is that the projected image doesnot precisely overlap the image as seen through the windshield. Thisparallax causes confusion in the driver and can only be corrected if thelocation of the driver's eyes is accurately known. One method of solvingthis problem is to use the passive seat adjustment system describedherein to place the occupant's eyes at the optimum location as describedabove. Once this has been accomplished, in addition to solving theparallax problem, the eyes are properly located with respect to the rearview mirror 55 and little if any adjustment is required in order for thedriver to have the proper view of what is behind the vehicle. Currentlythe problem is solved by projecting the heads-up display onto adifferent portion of the windshield, the bottom.

Although it has been described herein that the seat can be automaticallyadjusted to place the driver's eyes in the “eye-ellipse”, there are manymanual methods that can be implemented with feedback to the drivertelling him or her when his or her eyes are properly position. At leastone of the inventions disclosed herein is not limited by the use ofautomatic methods.

Once the morphology of the driver and the seat position is known, manyother objects in the vehicle can be automatically adjusted to conform tothe occupant. An automatically adjustable seat armrest, a cup holder,the cellular phone, or any other objects with which the driver interactscan be now moved to accommodate the driver. This is in addition to thepersonal preference items such as the radio station, temperature, etc.discussed above.

Once the system of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein isimplemented, additional features become possible such as a seat whichautomatically makes slight adjustments to help alleviate fatigue or toaccount for a change of position of the driver in the seat, or a seatwhich automatically changes position slightly based on the time of day.Many people prefer to sit more upright when driving at night, forexample. Other similar improvements based on knowledge of the occupantmorphology will now become obvious to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 30 shows a flow chart of one manner in the arrangement and methodfor controlling a vehicle component in accordance with the inventionfunctions. A measurement of the morphology of the occupant 30 isperformed at 396, i.e., one or more morphological characteristics aremeasured in any of the ways described above. The position of the seatportion 4 is obtained at 397 and both the measured morphologicalcharacteristic of the occupant 30 and the position of the seat portion 4are forwarded to the control system 400. The control system considersthese parameters and determines the manner in which the component 401should be controlled or adjusted, and even whether any adjustment isnecessary.

Preferably, seat adjustment means 398 are provided to enable automaticadjustment of the seat portion 4. If so, the current position of theseat portion 4 is stored in memory means 399 (which may be a previouslyadjusted position) and additional seat adjustment, if any, is determinedby the control system 400 to direct the seat adjustment means 398 tomove the seat. The seat portion 4 may be moved alone, i.e., consideredas the component, or adjusted together with another component, i.e.,considered separate from the component (represented by way of the dottedline in FIG. 30).

Although several preferred embodiments are illustrated and describedabove, there are other possible combinations using different sensorswhich measure either the same or different morphologicalcharacteristics, such as knee position, of an occupant to accomplish thesame or similar goals as those described herein.

It should be mentioned that the adjustment system may be used inconjunction with each vehicle seat. In this case, if a seat isdetermined to be unoccupied, then the processor means may be designed toadjust the seat for the benefit of other occupants, i.e., if a frontpassenger side seat is unoccupied but the rear passenger side seat isoccupied, then adjustment system could adjust the front seat for thebenefit of the rear-seated passenger, e.g., move the seat base forward.

In additional embodiments, the present invention involves themeasurement of one or more morphological characteristics of a vehicleoccupant and the use of these measurements to classify the occupant asto size and weight, and then to use this classification to position avehicle component, such as the seat, to a near optimum position for thatclass of occupant. Additional information concerning occupantpreferences can also be associated with the occupant class so that whena person belonging to that particular class occupies the vehicle, thepreferences associated with that class are implemented. Thesepreferences and associated component adjustments include the seatlocation after it has been manually adjusted away from the positionchosen initially by the system, the mirror location, temperature, radiostation, steering wheel and steering column positions, pedal positionsetc. The preferred morphological characteristics used are the occupantheight from the vehicle seat, weight of the occupant and facialfeatures. The height is determined by sensors, usually ultrasonic orelectromagnetic, located in the headrest, headliner or anotherconvenient location. The weight is determined by one of a variety oftechnologies that measure either pressure on or displacement of thevehicle seat or the force in the seat supporting structure. The facialfeatures are determined by image analysis comprising an imager such as aCCD or CMOS camera plus additional hardware and software.

The eye tracker systems discussed above are facilitated by at least oneof the inventions disclosed herein since one of the main purposes ofdetermining the location of the driver's eyes either by directlylocating them with trained pattern recognition technology or byinferring their location from the location of the driver's head, is sothat the seat can be automatically positioned to place the driver's eyesinto the “eye-ellipse”. The eye-ellipse is the proper location for thedriver's eyes to permit optimal operation of the vehicle and for thelocation of the mirrors etc. Thus, if the location of the driver's eyesare known, then the driver can be positioned so that his or her eyes areprecisely situated in the eye ellipse and the reflection off of the eyecan be monitored with a small eye tracker system. Also, by ascertainingthe location of the driver's eyes, a rear view mirror positioning devicecan be controlled to adjust the mirror 55 to an optimal position. Seesection 6.5.

7.3 Rear Impacts

Rear impact protection is also discussed elsewhere herein. Arear-of-head detector is illustrated in FIG. 24. This detector, whichcan be one of the types described above, is used to determine thedistance from the headrest to the rearmost position of the occupant'shead and to therefore control the position of the headrest so that it isproperly positioned behind the occupant's head to offer optimum supportduring a rear impact. Although the headrest of most vehicles isadjustable, it is rare for an occupant to position it properly if atall. Each year there are in excess of 400,000 whiplash injuries invehicle impacts approximately 90,000 of which are from rear impacts(source: National Highway Traffic Safety Admin.). A properly positionedheadrest could substantially reduce the frequency of such injuries,which can be accomplished by the head detector of at least one of theinventions disclosed herein. The head detector is connected to theheadrest control mechanism and circuitry. This mechanism is capable ofmoving the headrest up and down and, in some cases, rotating it fore andaft.

7.4 Monitoring of Other Vehicles such as Cargo Containers, TruckTrailers and Railroad Cars

7.4.1 Monitoring the interior contents of a shipping container, trailer,boat, shed, etc.

Commercial systems are now available from companies such as Skybitz Inc.45365 Vintage Park Plaza, Suite 210, Dulles, Va. 20166-6700, which willmonitor the location of an asset anywhere on the surface of the earth.Each monitored asset contains a low cost GPS receiver and a satellitecommunication system. The system can be installed onto a truck, trailer,container, or other asset and it well periodically communicate with alow earth orbit (LEO) or a geostationary satellite providing thesatellite with its location as determined by the GPS receiver or asimilar system such as the Skybitz Global Locating System (GLS). Theentire system operates off of a battery, for example, and if the systemtransmits information to the satellite once per day, the battery canlast many years before requiring replacement. Thus, the system canmonitor the location of a trailer, for example, once per day, which issufficient if trailer is stationary. The interrogation rate can beautomatically increased if the trailer begins moving. Such a system canlast for 2 to 10 years without requiring maintenance depending ondesign, usage and the environment. Even longer periods are possible ifpower is periodically or occasionally available to recharge the batterysuch as by vibration energy harvesting, solar cells, capacitivecoupling, inductive coupling, RF or vehicle power. In some cases anultracapacitor as discussed above can be used in place of a battery.

The Skybitz system by itself only provides information as to thelocation of a container and not information about its contents,environment, and/or other properties. At least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein disclosed here is intended to provide this additionalinformation, which can be coded typically into a few bytes and sent tothe satellite along with the container location information andidentification. First consider monitoring of the interior contents of acontainer. From here on, the terms “shipping container” or “container”will be used as a generic cargo holder and will include all cargoholders including standard and non-standard containers, boats, trucks,trailers, sheds, warehouses, storage facilities, tanks, buildings or anyother such object that has space and can hold cargo. Most of these“containers” are also vehicles as defined above.

One method of monitoring the space inside such a container is to useultrasound such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,462, U.S. Pat. No.5,829,782, U.S. RE37260 (a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,295), U.S.Pat. No. 5,901,978, U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,639, U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537,U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,520, U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,127, U.S. Pat. No.6,270,117, U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,503, U.S. Pat. No. 6,341,798, U.S. Pat.No. 6,397,136 and RE 37,260 for monitoring the interior of a vehicle.Also, reference is made to U.S. patents U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,946, whichdiscusses various ways to use an ultrasonic transducer whilecompensating for thermal gradients. Reference is also made to U.S. Pat.No. 5,653,462, U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,320, U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,707, U.S.Pat. No. 5,829,782, U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,613, U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,000,U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,802, U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,978, U.S. Pat. No.6,309,139, U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,854, U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,757, U.S. Pat.No. 6,088,640, U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,639, U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,492, U.S.Pat. No. 6,141,432, U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,198, U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,537,U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,519, U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,520, U.S. Pat. No.6,0242,701, U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,134, U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,127, U.S. Pat.No. 6,270,116, U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,946, U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,503, U.S.Pat. No. 6,324,453, U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,414, U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,501,U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,014, RE37260 U.S. Pat. No. 6,393,133, U.S. Pat. No.6,039,7136, U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,813, U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,595, U.S. Pat.No. 6,452,870, U.S. Pat. No. 6,442,504, U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,988, U.S.Pat. No. 6,442,465, which disclose inventions that may be incorporatedinto the invention(s) disclosed herein.

Consider now a standard shipping container that is used for shippingcargo by boat, trailer, or railroad. Such containers are nominally8′w×8′h×20′ or 40′ long outside dimensions, however, a container 48′ inlength is also sometimes used. The inside dimensions are frequentlyaround 4″ less than the outside dimensions. In a simple interiorcontainer monitoring system, one or more ultrasonic transducers can bemounted on an interior part of the container adjacent the container'sceiling in a protective housing. Periodically, the ultrasonictransducers can emit a few cycles of ultrasound and receive reflectedechoes of this ultrasound from walls and contents of the trailer. Insome cases, especially for long containers, one or more transducers,typically at one end of the container, can send to one or moretransducers located at, for example, the opposite end. Usually, however,the transmitters and receivers are located near each other. Due to thelong distance that the ultrasound waves must travel especially in the 48foot container, it is frequently desirable to repeat the send andreceive sequence several times and to add or average the results. Thishas the effect of improving the signal to noise ratio. Note that thesystem disclosed herein and in the parent patents and applications isable to achieve such long sensing distances due to the principlesdisclosed herein. Competitive systems that are now beginning to enterthe market have much shorter sensing distances and thus a key inventionherein is the ability to achieve sensing distances in excess of 20 feet.

Note that in many cases several transducers are used for monitoring thevehicle such as a container that typically point in slightly differentdirections. Naturally, this need not be the case and a movable mountingis also contemplated where the motion is accomplished by any convenientmethod such as a magnet, motor, etc.

Referring to FIGS. 35A and 35B, a container 480 is shown including aninterior sensor system 481 arranged to obtain information about contentsin the interior of the container 480. The interior sensor systemincludes a wave transmitter 482 mounted at one end of the container 480and which operatively transmits waves into the interior of the container480 and a wave receiver 483 mounted adjacent the wave transmitter 482and which operatively receives waves from the interior of the container480. As shown, the transmitter 482 and receiver 483 are adjacent oneanother but such a positioning is not intended to limit the invention.The transmitter 482 and receiver 483 can be formed as a singletransducer or may be spaced apart from one another. Multiple pairs oftransmitter/receivers can also be provided, for example transmitter 482′and receiver 483′ are located at an opposite end of the container 480proximate the doors 484.

The interior sensor system 481 includes a processor coupled to thereceiver 483, and optionally the transmitter 482, and which is residenton the container 480, for example, in the housing of the receiver 483 orin the housing of a communication system 485. The processor isprogrammed to compare waves received by each receiver 483, 483′ atdifferent times and analyze either the received waves individually orthe received waves in comparison to or in relation to other receivedwaves for the purpose of providing information about the contents in theinterior of the container 480. The processor can employ patternrecognition techniques and as discussed more fully below, be designed tocompensate for thermal gradients in the interior of the container 480.

Information about the contents of the container 480 may comprise thepresence and/or motion of objects in the interior. The processor may beassociated with a memory unit which can store data on the location ofthe container 480 and the analysis of the data from the interior sensorsystem 481. The processor associated with or integral with the interiorsensor system 481 can apply pattern recognition techniques to determinethe presence of objects in the interior space of the container 480and/or motion or other properties of the objects in the interior spaceof the container 480. One technique uses wave comparison by comparingwaves received at different times.

It is also possible to perform object (cargo) detection by directingultrasonic waves into the interior space so that they are reflected offof any objects in the interior space of the container 480. Theamplitudes of the reflected waves are compared to thresholds obtained orderived from reflections in the absence of the objects in the container480. Thus, the thresholds are set to accommodate the reflectionsexpected or actually obtained from an empty container 480, removing thereflections from the door 484, floor and side walls. Since the amplitudeis significantly affected by humidity, humidity compensation (describedbelow) is extremely desirable.

The container 480 also includes a location determining system 486 whichmonitors the location of the container 480. To this end, the locationdetermining system can be any asset locator in the prior art, whichtypically include a GPS receiver, transmitter and appropriate electronichardware and software to enable the position of the container 480 to bedetermined using GPS technology or other satellite or ground-basedtechnology including those using the cell phone system or similarlocation based systems.

The communication system 485 is coupled to both the interior sensorsystem 481 and the location determining system 486 and transmits theinformation about the contents in the interior of the container 480(obtained from the interior sensor system 481) and the location of thecontainer 480 (obtained from the location determining system 486). Thistransmission may be to a remote facility wherein the information aboutthe container 480 is stored, processed, counted, reviewed and/ormonitored and/or retransmitted to another location, perhaps by way ofthe Internet.

The container 480 also includes a door status sensor 487 arranged todetect when one or both doors 484 is/are opened or closed after havingbeen opened. The door status sensor 487 may be an ultrasonic sensorwhich is positioned a fixed distance from the doors 484 and registerschanges in the position of the doors 484. Alternately, other door statussystems can be used such as those based on switches, magnetic sensors orother technologies. The door status sensor 487 can be programmed toassociate an increase in the distance between the sensor 487 and each ofthe doors 484 and a subsequent decrease in the distance between thesensor 487 and that door 484 as an opening and subsequent closing ofthat door 484. In the alternative, a latching device can be provided todetect latching of each door 484 upon its closure. The door statussensor 487 is coupled to the interior sensor system 481, or at least tothe transmitters 482,482′ so that the transmitters 482,482′ can bedesigned to transmit waves into the interior of the container 480 onlywhen the door status sensor 487 detects when at least one door 484 isclosed after having been opened. For other purposes, the ultrasonicsensors may be activated on opening of the door(s) in order to monitorthe movement of objects into or out of the container, which might inturn be used to activate an RFID or bar code reading system or otherobject identification system.

When the ultrasonic transducers are first installed into the container480 and the doors 484 closed, an initial pulse transmission can beinitiated and the received signal stored to provide a vector of datathat is representative of an empty container. To initiate the pulsetransmission, an initiation device or function is provided in theinterior sensor system 481, e.g., the door status sensor 487. At asubsequent time when contents have been added to the container (aspossibly reflected in the opening and closing of the doors 484 asdetected by the door status sensor 487), the ultrasonic transducers canbe commanded to again issue a few cycles of ultrasound and record thereflections. If the second pattern is subtracted from the first pattern,or otherwise compared, in the processor the existence of additionalcontents in the container 480 will cause the signal to change, whichthus causes the differential signal to change and the added contentsdetected. Vector as used herein with ultrasonic systems is a lineararray of data values obtained by rectifying, taking the envelope anddigitizing the returned signal as received by the transducer or otherdigital representation comprising at least a part of the returnedsignal.

When a container 480 is exposed to sunlight on its exterior top, astable thermal gradient can occur inside the container 480 where the topof the container 480 near the ceiling is at a significantly highertemperature than the bottom of the container 480. This thermal gradientchanges the density of the gas inside the container causing it to act asa lens to ultrasound that diffracts or bends the ultrasonic waves andcan significantly affect the signals sensed by the receiver portions483,483′ of the transducers. Thus, the vector of sensed data when thecontainer is at a single uniform temperature will look significantlydifferent from the vector of sensed data acquired within the samecontainer when thermal gradients are present.

It is even possible for currents of heated air to occur within acontainer 480 if a side of the container is exposed to sunlight. Sincethese thermal gradients can substantially affect the vector, the systemmust be examined under a large variety of different thermalenvironments. This generally requires that the electronics be designedto mask somewhat the effects of the thermal gradients on the magnitudeof the sensed waves while maintaining the positions of these waves intime. This can be accomplished as described in detail in theabove-referenced patents and patent applications through the use, forexample, of a logarithmic compression circuit. There are other methodsof minimizing the effect on the reflected wave magnitudes that willaccomplish substantially the same result, some of which are disclosedelsewhere herein.

To allow for temperature compensation, one or more temperature sensors479 are arranged on the container 480 to measure or otherwise determinethe temperature of the atmosphere in the interior of the container 480.In view of thermal gradients in the longitudinal and transversedirections of the container 480, preferably multiple temperature sensors479 are provided. Temperature sensors 479 provide the temperature(s) toa processor which controls or is part of the interior sensor system 481,i.e., ultrasonic wave transmitter 482 and wave receiver 483, to changethe transmission frequency of the ultrasonic waves being transmitted bythe wave transmitter 482 as a function of the temperature. In thismanner, the frequency of the ultrasonic waves can be optimal for thetemperature conditions in the container 480. Additional discussion aboutwave frequency compensation as a function of temperature is set forth insection 1.1.2.9 above.

In addition to instead of altering a transmission parameter of theultrasonic waves via the ultrasonic transmitter 482 based ontemperature, it is also possible to alter an analysis parameter, i.e.,the manner in which any reflected waves are processed, based ontemperature. Specifically, as described above, when processing receivedultrasonic waves, a portion of the waves can be removed, this portionbeing considered noise or irrelevant to the determination of informationabout objects in the field of the ultrasonic waves. When transmittedinto an interior space of the container 480, the removed portions couldbe those portions reflecting from the structure of the container 480itself. Now, it has been found that the amount of waves to be removed,i.e., the size of the removed portion, can be adjusted as a function ofthe temperature in the container 480 to maintain the same interrogationdistance of the ultrasonic transducer. This means that if an area withina set range from the transducer is being monitored and only wavesreflecting from objects in that range are desired, reflected wavesreceived by the ultrasonic receiver 483 are processed to eliminateportions which reflect from objects outside of that range and theseportions are varied depending on the temperature. Without varying thesize of the portions removed from reflected waves, as the temperaturevaries inside the container 480, different areas of the container 480would be monitored to obtain information about objects and thusinconsistent and possibly erroneous information would be obtained.

When the complicating aspects of thermal gradients are taken intoaccount, in many cases a great deal of data must be taken with a largenumber of different occupancy situations to create a database of perhaps10,000 to one million vectors each representing the different occupancystate of the container in a variety of thermal environments. This datacan then be used to train a pattern recognition system such as a neuralnetwork, modular or combination neural network, cellular neural network,support vector machine, fuzzy logic system, Kalman filter system, sensorfusion system, data fusion system or other classification system. Sinceall containers of the type transported by ships, for example, are ofstandard sizes, only a few of these training exercises need to beconducted, typically one for each different geometry container. Theprocess of adapting an ultrasonic occupancy monitoring system to acontainer or other space is described in considerable detail forautomobile interior monitoring in the above-referenced patents andpatent applications, and elsewhere herein, and therefore this processneed not be repeated here.

Other kinds of interior monitoring systems can be used to determine andcharacterize the contents of a space such as a container. One exampleuses a scanner and photocell 488, as in a laser radar system, and can bemounted near the floor of the container 480 and operated to scan thespace above the floor in a plane located, for example, 10 cm above thefloor. Since the distance to a reflecting wall of the container 480 canbe determined and recorded for each angular position of the scanner, thedistance to any occupying item will show up as a reflection from anobject closer to the scanner and therefore a shadow graph of thecontents of the container 10 cm above the floor can be obtained and usedto partially categorize the contents of the container 480.Categorization of the contents of the container 480 may involve the useof pattern recognition technologies. Naturally, other locations of sucha scanning system are possible.

In both of these examples, relatively little can be said about thecontents of the container other then that something is present or thatthe container is empty. Frequently, this is all that is required. A moresophisticated system can make use of one or more imagers (for examplecameras) 489 mounted near the ceiling of the container, for example.Such imagers can be provided with a strobe flash and then commanded tomake an image of the trailer interior at appropriate times. The outputfrom such an imager 489 can also be analyzed by a pattern recognitionsystem such as a neural network or equivalent, to reduce the informationto a few bytes that can be sent to a central location via an LEO orgeostationary satellite, for example. As with the above ultrasonicexample, one image can be subtracted from the empty container image andif anything remains then that is a representation of the contents thathave been placed in the container. Also, various images can besubtracted to determine the changes in container contents when the doorsare opened and material is added or removed or to determine changes inposition of the contents. Various derivatives of this information can beextracted and sent by the telematics system to the appropriate locationfor monitoring or other purposes.

Each of the systems mentioned above can also be used to determinewhether there is motion of objects within the container relative to thecontainer, or another property of the objects in the container. Motionof objects within the container 480 would be reflected as differencesbetween the waves received by the transducers (indicative of differencesin distances between the transducer and the objects in the container) orimages (indicative of differences between the position of objects in theimages). Such motion can also aid in image segmentation which in turncan aid in the object identification process. This is particularlyvaluable if the container is occupied by life forms such as humans.

As discussed above in section 1.1.2.10, humidity also affects ultrasonicwave propagation. Therefore, one or more humidity sensors 478 can bearranged on the container 480 to measure or otherwise determine thehumidity of the atmosphere in the interior of the container 480 (seeFIG. 35B). Humidity sensors 478 provide the humidity to a processorwhich controls or is part of the interior sensor system 481, i.e.,ultrasonic wave transmitter 482 and wave receiver 483, to changeparameters of the processing of the ultrasonic waves as function ofhumidity (if such a change is determined to be necessary to obtain ameaningful, acceptable or optimal wave analysis). Such parametersinclude transmission parameters such as the frequency, gain and power ofthe ultrasonic waves being transmitted by the wave transmitter 482 andreception parameters, such as amplification of the returned waves andthe size and location of only a portion of the returned wave signalwhich is to be analyzed. In particular, the gain values of theultrasonic waves are adjusted based on humidity since humiditycontributes more than about 2 orders of magnitude to the amplitude ofreflected wave signals.

Since one particular combination which affects ultrasonic wavepropagation is the combination of low humidity and high temperature,temperature sensors 479 and humidity sensors 478 could be used incombination to enable the interior sensor system 481 to optimize thetransmission and reception of ultrasonic waves in consideration of boththe temperature and humidity of the atmosphere in the interior space ofthe container 480.

In the systems of FIGS. 35A and 35B, wires (not shown) are used toconnect the various sensors and devices. It is contemplated that all ofthe units in the monitoring system can be coupled together wirelessly,using for example the Bluetooth, WI-FI or other protocol. Also, as shownin FIG. 35B, the interior sensor system 481 is arranged on the far sideof the container 480 farthest away from the door 484. Alternative oradditional mounting locations include along or on other sides of thecontainer 480.

If an inertial device 490 is also incorporated, such as the MEMSIC dualaxis accelerometer, which provides information as to the accelerationsof the container 480, then this relative motion can be determined by theprocessor and it can be ascertained whether this relative motion iscaused by acceleration of the container 480, which may indicate loosecargo, and/or whether the motion is caused by the sensed occupying item.In latter case, a conclusion can perhaps be reached that container isoccupied by a life form such as an animal or human. Additionally, it maybe desirable to place sensors on an item of cargo itself since damage tothe cargo could occur from excessive acceleration, shock, temperature,vibration, etc. regardless of whether the same stimulus was experiencedby the entire container. A loose item of cargo, for example, may beimpacting the monitored item of cargo and damaging it. Relative motioncan also be sensed in some cases from outside of the container throughthe use of accelerometers, microphones or MIR (Micropower ImpulseRadar). Note that all such sensors regardless of where they are placedare contemplated herein and are part of the present inventions.

Chemical sensors 491 based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) or othertechnology can in many cases be designed to sense the presence ofcertain vapors in the atmosphere and can do so at very low power. Aproperly designed SAW or equivalent sensing device, for example, canmeasure acceleration, angular rate, strain, temperature, pressure,carbon dioxide concentration, humidity, hydrocarbon concentration, andthe presence or concentration of many other chemicals. A separate SAW orsimilar device may be needed for each chemical species (or in some caseseach class of chemicals) where detection is desired. The devices,however, can be quite small and can be designed to use very littlepower. Such a system of SAW or equivalent devices can be used to measurethe existence of certain chemical vapors in the atmosphere of thecontainer much like a low power electronic nose. In some cases, it canbe used to determine whether a carbon dioxide source such as a human isin the container. Such chemical sensing devices can also be designed,for example, to monitor for many other chemicals including somenarcotics, hydrocarbons, mercury vapor, and other hazardous chemicalsincluding some representative vapors of explosives or some weapons ofmass destruction. With additional research, SAW or similar devices canalso be designed or augmented to sense the presence of radioactivematerials, and perhaps some biological materials such as smallpox oranthrax. In many cases, such SAW devices do not now exist, however,researchers believe that given the proper motivation that such devicescan be created. Thus, although heretofore not appreciated, SAW orequivalent based systems can monitor a great many dangerous andhazardous materials that may be either legally or illegally occupyingspace within a container, for example. In particular, the existence ofspills or leakages from the cargo can be detected in time to perhapssave damage to other cargo either within the container or in an adjacentcontainer. Although SAW devices have in particular been described, otherlow power devices using battery or RF power can also be used wherenecessary. Note, the use of any of the afore mentioned SAW devices inconnection within or on a vehicle for any purpose other than tirepressure and temperature monitoring or torque monitoring is new andcontemplated by the inventions disclosed herein. Naturally only a smallnumber of examples are presented of the general application of the SAW,or RFID, technology to vehicles.

Other sensors that can be designed to operate under very low powerlevels include microphones 492 and light sensors 493 or sensorssensitive to other frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum as theneed arises. The light sensors 493 could be designed to cause activationof the interior sensor system 481 when the container is being switchedfrom a dark condition (normally closed) to a light situation (when thedoor or other aperture is opened). A flashlight could also activate thelight sensor 493.

Instead of one or more batteries providing power to the interior sensorsystem 481, the communication system 485 and the location determiningsystem 486, solar power can be used. In this case, one or more solarpanels 494 are attached to the upper wall of the container 480 (see FIG.35A) and electrically coupled to the various power-requiring componentsof the monitoring system. A battery can thus be eliminated. In thealternative, since the solar panel(s) 494 will not always be exposed tosunlight, a rechargeable battery can be provided which is charged by thesolar panel 494 when the solar panels are exposed to sunlight. A batterycould also be provided in the event that the solar panel 494 does notreceive sufficient light to power the components of the monitoringsystem. In a similar manner, power can temporarily be supplied by avehicle such as a tractor either by a direct connection to the tractorpower or though capacitive, inductive or RF coupling power transmissionsystems. As above an ultracapacitor can be used instead of a battery andenergy harvesting can be used if there is a source of energy such aslight or vibration in the environment.

In some cases, a container is thought to be empty when in fact it isbeing surreptitiously used for purposes beyond the desires of thecontainer owner or law enforcement authorities. The various transducersthat can be used to monitor interior of a container as described above,plus others, can also be used to allow the trailer or container owner toperiodically monitor the use of his property.

7.4.2 Monitoring the Entire Asset

Immediately above, monitoring of the interior of the container isdescribed. If the container is idle, there may not the need tofrequently monitor the status of the container interior or exterioruntil some event happens. Thus, all monitoring systems on the containercan be placed in the sleep mode until some event such as a motion orvibration of the container takes place. Other wakeup events couldinclude the opening of the doors, the sensing of light or a change inthe interior temperature of the container above a reference level, forexample. When any of these chosen events occurs, the system can beinstructed to change the monitoring rate and to immediately transmit asignal to a satellite or another communication system, or respond to asatellite-initiated signal for some LEO-based, or geocentric systems,for example. Such an event may signal to the container owner that arobbery was in progress either of the interior contents of the containeror of the entire container. It also might signal that the contents ofthe container are in danger of being destroyed through temperature orexcessive motion or that the container is being misappropriated for someunauthorized use.

FIG. 36A shows a flowchart of the manner in which container 480 may bemonitored by personnel or a computer program at a remote facility forthe purpose of detecting unauthorized entry into the container andpossible theft of the contents of the container 480. Initially, thewakeup sensor 495 detects motion, sound, light or vibration includingmotion of the doors 484, or any other change of the condition of thecontainer 480 from a stationary or expected position. The wakeup sensor495 can be designed to provide a signal indicative of motion only aftera fixed time delay, i.e., a period of “sleep”. In this manner, thewakeup sensor would not be activated repeatedly in traffic stop and gosituations.

The wakeup sensor 495 initiates the interior sensor system 481 toperform the analysis of the contents in the interior of the container,e.g., send waves into the interior, receive waves and then process thereceived waves. If motion in the interior of the container is notdetected at 496, then the interior sensor system 481 may be designed tocontinue to monitor the interior of the container, for example, byperiodically re-sending waves into the interior of the container. Ifmotion is detected at 496, then a signal is sent at 497 to a monitoringfacility via the communication system 485 and which includes thelocation of the container 480 obtained from the location determiningsystem 486 or by the ID for a permanently fixed container or otherasset, structure or storage facility. In this manner, if the motion isdetermined to deviate from the expected handling of the container 480,appropriate law enforcement personnel can be summoned to investigate.

When it is known and expected that the container should be in motion,monitoring of this motion can still be important. An unexpectedvibration could signal the start of a failure of the chassis tire, forexample, or failure of the attachment to the chassis or the attachmentof the chassis to the tractor. Similarly, an unexpected tilt angle ofthe container may signify a dangerous situation that could lead to arollover accident and an unexpected shock could indicate an accident hasoccurred. Various sensors that can be used to monitor the motion of thecontainer include gyroscopes, accelerometers and tilt sensors. An IMU(Inertial Measurement Unit) containing for example three accelerometersand three gyroscopes can be used.

In some cases, the container or the chassis can be provided with weightsensors that measure the total weight of the cargo as well as thedistribution of weight. By monitoring changes in the weight distributionas the vehicle is traveling, an indication can result that the contentswithin the trailer are shifting which could cause damage to the cargo.An alternate method is to put weight sensors in the floor or as a mat onthe floor of the vehicle. The mat design can use the bladder principlesdescribed above for weighing b vehicle occupants using, in most cases,multiple chambers. Strain gages can also be configured to measure theweight of container contents. An alternate approach is to use inertialsensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure the motion ofthe vehicle as it travels. If the characteristics of the inputaccelerations (linear and angular) are known from a map, for example, orby measuring them on the chassis then the inertial properties of thecontainer can be determined and thus the load that the containercontains. This is an alternate method of determining the contents of acontainer. If several (usually 3) accelerometers and several (usually 3)gyroscopes are used together in a single package then this is known asan inertial measurement unit. If a source of position is also known suchas from a GPS system then the errors inherent in the IMU can becorrected using a Kalman filter.

Other container and chassis monitoring can include the attachment of atrailer to a tractor, the attachment of electrical and/or communicationconnections, and the status of the doors to the container. If the doorsare opened when this is not expected, this could be an indication of acriminal activity underway. Several types of security seals areavailable including reusable seals that indicate when the door is openor closed or if it was ever opened during transit, or single use sealsthat are destroyed during the process of opening the container.

Another application of monitoring the entire asset would be toincorporate a diagnostic module into the asset. Frequently, the assetmay have operating parts, e.g., if it is a refrigerated and contains arefrigeration unit. To this end, sensors can be installed on the assetand monitored using pattern recognition techniques as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,809,437 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,787. As such, various sensorswould be placed on the container 480 and used to determine problems withthe container 480 which might cause it to operate abnormally, e.g., ifthe refrigeration unit were about to fail because of a refrigerant leak.In this case, the information about the expected failure of therefrigeration unit could be transmitted to a facility and maintenance ofthe refrigeration unit could be scheduled.

It can also be desirable to detect unauthorized entry into container,which could be by cutting with a torch, or motorized saw, grinding, orblasting through the wall, ceiling, or floor of the container. Thisevent can be detected by one or more of the following methods:

1. A light sensor which measures any part of the visible or infraredpart of the spectrum and is calibrated to the ambient light inside thecontainer when the door is closed and which then triggers when light isdetected above ambient levels and door is closed.

2. A vibration sensor attached to wall of container which triggers onvibrations of an amplitude and/or frequency signature indicative offorced entry into the container. The duration of signal would also be afactor to consider. The algorithm could be derived from observations andtests or it could use a pattern recognition approach such as NeuralNetworks.

3. An infrared or carbon dioxide sensor could be used to detect humanpresence, although a carbon dioxide sensor would probably require aprolonged exposure.

4. Various motion sensors as discussed above can also be used, but wouldneed to be resistant to triggering on motion typical of cargo transport.Thus a trained pattern recognition algorithm might be necessary.

5. The Interior of the container can be flooded with waves (ultrasonicor electromagnetic) and the return signature evaluated by a patternrecognition system such as a neural network trained to recognize changesconsistent with the removal of cargo or the presence of a person orpeople. Alternately the mere fact that the pattern was changing could beindicative of human presence.

As discussed above and below, information from entry/person detectorcould be sent to communication network to notify interested parties ofcurrent status. Additionally, an audible alarm may be sounded and aphoto could also be taken to identify the intruder. Additionally, motionsensors such as an accelerometer on a wall or floor of a vehicle such asa container or an ultrasonic or optical based motion detector such asused to turn on residential lights and the like, can also be used todetect intrusion into a vehicle and thus are contemplated herein. Suchsensors can be mounted at any of the preferred locations disclosedherein or elsewhere in or on the vehicle. If a container, for example,is closed, a photocell connected to a pattern recognition system such asa neural network, for example can be trained to be sensitive to veryminute changes in light such as would occur when an intruder opens adoor or cuts a hole in a wall, ceiling or the floor of a vehicle even ona dark night. Even if there are holes in the vehicle that allow light toenter, the rate of change of this illumination can be detected and usedas an indication of an intrusion.

It is noteworthy that systems based on the disclosure above can beconfigured to monitor construction machinery to prevent theft or atleast to notify others that a theft is in progress.

7.4.3 Recording

In many cases it is desirable to obtain and record additionalinformation about the cargo container and its contents. As mentionedabove, the weight of the container with its contents and thedistribution and changes in this weight distribution could be valuablefor a safety authority investigating an accident, for highwayauthorities monitoring gross vehicle weight, for container owners whocharge by the used capacity, and others. The environment that thecontainer and its contents have been subjected to could also besignificant information. Such things as whether the container wasflooded, exposed to a spill or leakage of a hazardous material, exposedto excessive heat or cold, shocks, vibration etc. can be importanthistorical factors for the container affecting its useful life,establishing liability for damages etc. For example, a continuousmonitoring of container interior temperature could be significant forperishable cargo and for establishing liability.

With reference to FIG. 36B, in some cases, the individual cargo items498 can be tagged with RFID or SAW tags 499 and the presence of thiscargo in the container 480 could be valuable information to the owner ofthe cargo. One or more sensors on the container that periodically readRFID tags could be required, such as one or more RFID interrogators 500which periodically sends a signal which will causes the RFID tags 499 togenerate a responsive signal. The responsive signal generated by theRFID tags 499 will contain information about the cargo item on which theRFID tag 499 is placed. Multiple interrogators or at least multipleantennas may be required depending on the size of the container. TheRFID can be based on a SAW thus providing greater range for a passivesystem or it can also be provided with an internal battery orultracapacitor for even greater range. Naturally energy harvesting canalso be used if appropriate.

Similarly, for certain types of cargo, a barcode system mightacceptable, or another optically readable identification code. The cargoitems would have to be placed so that the identification codes arereadable, i.e., when a beam of light is directed over the identificationcodes, a pattern of light is generated which contains information aboutthe cargo item. As shown in FIG. 36C, the cargo items in this case areboxes having an equal height so that a space remains between the top ofthe boxes 501 and the ceiling of the container 480. One or more opticalscanners 502, including a light transmitter and receiver, are arrangedon the ceiling of the container and can be arranged to scan the uppersurfaces of the boxes 503, possibly by moving the length of thecontainer 480, or through a plurality of such sensors. During such ascan, patterns of light are reflected from the barcodes 501 on the uppersurfaces of the boxes 503 and received by the optical scanner 502. Thepatterns of light contain information about the cargo items in the boxes503. Receivers can be arranged at multiple locations along the ceiling.Other arrangements to ensure that a light beam traverses a barcode 501and is received by a receiver can also be applied in accordance with theinvention. As discussed above, other tag technologies can be used ifappropriate such as those based of magnetic wires.

The ability to read barcodes and RFID tags provides the capability ofthe more closely tracking of packages for such organizations as UPS,Federal Express, the U.S. Postal Service and their customers. Now, insome cases, the company can ascertain that a given package is in fact ona particular truck or cargo transporter and also know the exact locationof the transporter.

Frequently, a trailer or container has certain hardware such as racksfor automotive parts, for example, that are required to stay with thecontainer. During unloading of the cargo these racks, or othersub-containers, could be removed from the container and not returned. Ifthe container system knows to check for the existence of these racks,then this error can be eliminated. Frequently, the racks are of greatervalue then the cargo they transport. Using RFID tags and a simpleinterrogator mounted on the ceiling of the container perhaps near theentrance, enables monitoring of parts that are taken in or are removedfrom the container and associated with the location of container. Bythis method, pilferage of valuable or dangerous cargo can at least betracked.

Containers constructed in accordance with the invention will frequentlyhave a direct method of transmitting information to a satellite.Typically, the contents of the container are more valuable than thetruck or chassis for the case of when the container is not a trailer. Ifthe tractor, train, plane or ship that is transporting the container isexperiencing difficulties, then this information can be transmitted tothe satellite system and thus to the container, carrier, or cargo owneror agent for attention. Information indicating a problem with carrier(railroad, tractor, plane, boat) may be sensed and reported onto a bussuch as CAN bus which can be attached either wirelessly or by wires tothe container. Alternately, sensors on the container can determinethrough vibrations etc. that the carrier may be experiencing problems.The reporting of problems with the vehicle can come from dedicatedsensors or from a general diagnostic system such as described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,809,437 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,787, and herein. Whatever thesource of the diagnostic information, especially when valuable ordangerous cargo is involved, this information in coded form can betransmitted to a ground station, LEO or geostationary satellite asdiscussed above. Other information that can be recorded by containerincludes the identification of the boat, railroad car, or tractor andoperator or driver.

The experiences of the container can be recorded over time as acontainer history record to help in life cycle analysis to determinewhen a container needs refurbishing, for example. This history in codedform could reside on a memory that is resident on the container orpreferably the information can be stored on a computer file associatedwith that container in a database. The mere knowledge of where acontainer has been, for example, may aid law enforcement authorities todetermine which containers are most likely to contain illegalcontraband.

The pertinent information relative to a container can be stored on a tagthat is associated and physically connected to the container. This tagmay be of the type that can be interrogated remotely to retrieve itscontents. Such a tag, for example, could contain information as to whenand where the container was most recently opened and the contents of thecontainer. Thus, as containers enter a port, their tags can each beinterrogated to determine their expected contents and also to give awarning for those containers that should be inspected more thoroughly.In most cases, the tag information will not reside on the container butin fact will be on a computer file accessible by those who have anauthorization to interrogate the file. Thus, the container need onlyhave a unique identification number that cannot easily be destroyed,changed or otherwise tampered with. These can be visual and painted onthe outside of the container or an RFID, barcode or other objectidentification system can be used. Again, the tags can be based onpassive SAW technology to give greater range or could contain a batteryor ultracapacitor for even greater range. The tag can be in a sleep modeuntil receiving a wakeup call to further conserve battery power.

FIG. 37 shows a flow chart of the manner in which multiple assets may bemonitored using a data processing and storage facility 510, each assethaving a unique identification code. The location of each asset isdetermined at 511, along with one or more properties or characteristicsof the contents of each asset at 512, one or more properties of theenvironment of each asset at 513, and/or the opening and/or closing ofthe doors of each asset at 514. This information is transmitted to thedata processing and storage facility 510 as represented by 515 with theidentification code. Information about the implement being used totransport the asset and the individual(s) or company or companiesinvolved in the transport of the asset can also be transmitted to thefacility as represented by 516. This latter information could be enteredby an input device attached to the asset.

The data processing and storage facility 510 is connected to theInternet at 517 to enable shippers 518 to check the location andprogress of the asset, the contents of the asset, the environment of theasset, whether the doors are being opened and closed impermissibly andthe individual and companies handling the asset. The same information,or a subset of this information, can also be accessed by law enforcementpersonnel at 519 and maritime/port authorities at 520. Differententities can be authorized to access different items of information orsubsets of the total information available relating to each asset.

For anti-theft purposes, the shipper enters the manifest of the assetusing an input device 521 so that the manifest can be compared to thecontents of the asset (at 522). A determination is made at 523 as towhether there are any differences between the current contents of theasset and the manifest. For example, the manifest might indicate thepresence of contents whereas the information transmitted by the assetreveals that it does not contain any objects. When such a discrepancy isrevealed, the shipment can be intercepted at 524 to ascertain thewhereabouts of the cargo. The history of the travels of the asset wouldalso be present in the data facility 510 so that it can be readilyascertained where the cargo disappeared. If no discrepancy is revealed,the asset is allowed to proceed at 525.

7.4.4 Exterior Monitoring Near a Vehicle

Having the ability to transmit coded information to a satellite, orother telematics system, using a low cost device having a battery thatlasts for many years opens up many other, previously impracticalopportunities. Many of these opportunities are discussed above and belowand all are teachings of at least one of the inventions disclosedherein. In this section, opportunities related to monitoring theenvironment in the vicinity of the container will be discussed. Manytypes of sensors can be used for the purpose of exterior monitoringincluding ultrasound, imagers such as cameras both with and withoutillumination including visual, infrared or ultraviolet imagers, radar,scanners including laser radar and phased array radar, other types ofsensors which sense other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum,capacitive sensors, electric or magnetic field sensors, and chemicalsensors among others.

Cameras either with or without a source of illumination can be used torecord people approaching the container and perhaps stealing thecontents of the container. At the appropriate frequencies, (tetra Hertz,for example) the presence of concealed weapons can be ascertained asdescribed in Alien Vision: Exploring the Electromagnetic Spectrum WithImaging Technology (SPIE Monograph Vol. PM104) by Austin Richards.Infrared sensors can be used to detect the presence of animal lifeincluding humans in the vicinity of container. Radio frequency sensorscan sense the presence of authorized personnel having a keyless entrytype transmitter or a SAW, RFID or similar device of the proper design.In this way, the container can be locked as a safe, for example, andonly permit an authorized person carrying the proper identification toopen the container or other storage facility.

A pattern recognition system can be trained to identify facial or irispatterns, for example, of authorized personnel or ascertain the identityof authorized personnel to prevent theft of the container. Such apattern recognition system can operate on the images obtained by thecameras. That is, if the pattern recognition system is a neural network,it would be trained to identify or ascertain the identity of authorizedpersonnel based on images of such personnel during a training phase andthus operationally only allow such personnel to open the container,enter the container and/or handle the container.

Naturally a wide variety of smart cards, biometric identificationsystems (such as fingerprints, voice prints and Iris scans) can be usedfor the same purpose. When an unauthorized person approaches thecontainer, his or her picture can be taken and in particular, if sensorsdetermine that someone is attempting to force entry into the container,that person's picture can be relayed via the communication system to theproper authorities. Cameras with a proper pattern recognition system canalso be used to identify if an approaching person is wearing a disguisesuch as a ski mask or is otherwise acting in a suspicious manner. Thisdetermination can provide a critical timely warning and in some casespermit an alarm to be sounded or otherwise notify the properauthorities.

Capacitance sensors or magnetic sensors can be used to ascertain thatthe container is properly attached to a trailer. An RFID or barcodescanner on the container can be used to record the identification of thetractor, trailer, or other element of the transportation system. Theseare just a small sampling of the additional sensors that can be usedwith the container or even mounted on a tractor or chassis to monitorthe container. With the teachings of at least one of the inventionsdisclosed herein, the output of any of these sensors can now betransmitted to a remote facility using a variety of telematics methodsincluding communication via a low power link to a satellite, such asprovided by the Skybitz Corporation as described above and others.

Thus, as mentioned above, many new opportunities now exist for applyinga wide variety of sensors to a cargo container or other object asdiscussed above and below. Through a communication system such as a LEOor geostationary or other satellite system, critical information aboutthe environment of container or changes in that environment can betransmitted to the container owner, law enforcement authorities,container contents owner etc. Furthermore, the system is generally lowcost and does not require connection to an external source of power. Thesystem generally uses low power from a battery that can last for yearswithout maintenance,

7.4.5 Analysis

Many of the sensor systems described above output data that can best beanalyzed using pattern recognition systems such as neural networks,cellular neural networks, fuzzy logic, sensor fusion, modular neuralnetworks, combination neural networks, support vector machines, neuralfuzzy systems or other classifiers that convert the pattern data into anoutput indicative of the class of the object or event being sensed. Oneinteresting method, for example, is the ZISC® chip system of SiliconRecognition Inc., Petaluna, Calif. A general requirement for the lowpower satellite monitoring system is that the amount of data routinelysent to the satellite be kept to a minimum. For most transmissions, thisinformation will involve the location of the container, for example,plus a few additional bytes of status information determined by themission of the particular container and its contents. Thus, the patternrecognition algorithms must convert typically a complex image or otherdata to a few bytes representative of the class of the monitored item orevent.

In some instances, the container must send considerably more data and ata more frequent interval than normal. This will generally happen onlyduring an exceptional situation or event and when the added batterydrain of this activity is justified. In this case, the system willsignal the satellite that an exception situation exists and to prepareto receive additional information.

Many of the sensors on the container and inside the container may alsorequire significant energy and thus should be used sparingly. Forexample, if the container is known to be empty and the doors closed,there is no need to monitor the interior of the container unless thedoors have been reopened. Similarly, if the container is stationary anddoors are closed, then continuously monitoring the interior of thecontainer to determine the presence of cargo is unnecessary. Thus, eachof the sensors can have a program duty cycle that depends on exterior orother events. Naturally, in some applications either solar power orother source of power may be available either intermittently to chargethe battery or continuously.

If the vehicle such as a container is stationary then usually themonitoring can take place infrequently and the battery is conserved.When the vehicle is in motion then energy is frequently available tocharge the battery and thus more frequent monitoring can take place asthe battery is charged. The technique in known as “energy harvesting”and involves, for example, the use of a piezoelectric material that iscompressed, bent or otherwise flexed thereby creating an electriccurrent that can be used to charge the battery. Other methods includethe use of a magnet and coil where the magnet moves relative to the coilunder forces caused by the motion of the vehicle.

Since the duty cycle of the sensor system may vary considerably, andsince any of the sensors can fail, be sabotaged or otherwise be renderedincapable of performing its intended function either from time,exposure, or intentionally, it is expected that some or all of thesensors will be equipped with a diagnostic capability. The communicationsystem will generally interrogate each sensor or merely expect atransmission from each sensor and if that interrogation or transmissionfails or a diagnostic error occurs, this fact will be communicated tothe appropriate facility. If, for example, someone attempts to cover thelens of a camera so that a theft would not be detected, the mere factthat the lens was covered could be reported, alerting authorities thatsomething unusual was occurring.

7.4.6 Safety

As mentioned previously, there are times when the value of the contentsof a container can exceed the value of the tractor, chassis andcontainer itself. Additionally, there are times when the contents of thecontainer can be easily damaged if subjected to unreasonable vibrations,angles, accelerations and shocks. For these situations, an inertialmeasurement unit (IMU) can be used in conjunction with the container tomonitor the accelerations experienced by the container (or the cargo)and to issue a warning if those accelerations are deemed excessiveeither in magnitude, duration, or frequency or where the integrations ofthese accelerations indicate an excessive velocity, angular velocity orangular displacement. Note that for some applications in order tominimize the power expended at the sensor installation, the IMUcorrection calculations based on the GPS can be done at an off sensorlocation such as the receiving station of the satellite information.

If the vehicle operates on a road that has previously been accuratelymapped, to an accuracy of perhaps a few centimeters, then the analysissystem can know the input from the road to the vehicle tires and thus tothe chassis of the trailer. The IMU can also calculate the velocity ofthe trailer. By monitoring the motion of the container when subjected toa known stimulus, the road, the inertial properties of the container andchassis system can be estimated. If these inertial properties are knownthan a safe operating speed limit can be determined such that theprobability of rollover, for example, is kept within reasonable bounds.If the driver exceeds that velocity, then a warning can be issued.Similarly, in some cases, the traction of the trailer wheels on theroadway can be estimated based on the tendency of a trailer to skidsideways. This also can be the basis of issuing a warning to the driverand to notify the contents owner especially if the vehicle is beingoperated in an unsafe manner for the road or weather conditions. Sincethe information system can also know the weather conditions in the areawhere the vehicle is operating, this added information can aid in thesafe driving and safe speed limit determination. In some cases, thevibrations caused by a failing tire can also be determined. For thosecases where radio frequency tire monitors are present, the container canalso monitor the tire pressure and determine when a dangerous situationexists. Finally, the vehicle system can input to the overall system whenthe road is covered with ice or when it encounters a pothole.

Thus, there are many safety related aspects to having sensors mounted ona container and where those sensors can communicate periodically with aLEO or other satellite, or other communication system, and thereafter tothe Internet or directly to the appropriate facility. Some of these relyon an accurate IMU. Although low cost IMUs are generally not veryaccurate, when they are combined using a Kalman filter with the GPSsystem, which is on the container as part of the tracking system, theaccuracy of the IMU can be greatly improved, approaching that ofmilitary grade systems.

7.4.7 Other Remote Monitoring

The discussion above has concentrated on containers that contain cargowhere presumably this cargo is shipped from one company or organizationto another. This cargo could be automotive parts, animals, furniture,weapons, bulk commodities, machinery, fruits, vegetables, TV sets, orany other commonly shipped product. What has been described above is amonitoring system for tracking this cargo and making measurements toinform the interested parties (owners, law enforcement personnel etc.)of the status of the container, its contents, and the environment. Thisbecomes practical when a satellite system exists such as the Skybitz,for example, LEO or geostationary satellite system coupled with a lowcost low power small GPS receiver and communication device capable ofsending information periodically to the satellite. Once the satellitehas received the position information from the container, for example,this information can be relayed to a computer system wherein the exactlocation of the container can be ascertained. Additionally, if thecontainer has an RFID reader, the location of all packages having anRFID tag that are located within the container can also be ascertained.

The accuracy of this determination is currently now approximately 20meters. However, as now disclosed for the first time, the ionospherecaused errors in GPS signals received by container receiver can bedetermined from a variety of differential GPS systems and thatinformation can be coupled with the information from the container todetermine a precise location of the container to perhaps as accurate asa few centimeters. This calculation can be done at any facility that hasaccess to the relevant DGPS corrections and the container location. Itneed not be done onboard the container. Using accurate digital maps thelocation of the container on the earth can be extremely preciselydetermined. This principle can now be used for other locationdetermining purposes. The data processing facility that receives theinformation from the asset via satellites can also know the DGPScorrections at the asset location and thus can relay to the vehicle itsprecise location.

Although the discussion above has centered on cargo transportation as anillustrative example, at least one of the inventions disclosed herein isnot limited thereto and in fact can be used with any asset whethermovable or fixed where monitoring for any of a variety of reasons isdesired. These reasons include environmental monitoring, for example,where asset damage can occur if the temperature, humidity, or otheratmospheric phenomena exceeds a certain level. Such a device then couldtransmit to the telecommunications system when this exception situationoccurred. It still could transmit to the system periodically, perhapsonce a day, just to indicate that all is OK and that an exceptionalsituation did not occur.

Another example could be the monitoring of a vacation home during themonths when the home is not occupied. Of course, any home could be somonitored even when the occupants leave the home unattended for a party,for example. The monitoring system could determine whether the house ison fire, being burglarized, or whether temperature is dropping to thepoint that pipes could freeze due to a furnace or power failure. Such asystem could be less expensive to install and maintain by a homeowner,for example, than systems supplied by ADT, for example. Naturally, themonitoring of a real estate location could also be applied toindustrial, governmental and any other similar sites. Any of the sensorsincluding electromagnetic, cameras, ultrasound, capacitive, chemical,moisture, radiation, biological, temperature, pressure, radiation, etc.could be attached to such a system which would not require any otherelectrical connection either to a power source or to a communicationsource such as a telephone line which is currently require by ADT, forexample. In fact, most currently installed security and fire systemsrequire both a phone and a power connection. Naturally, if a powersource is available it can be used to recharge the batteries or asprimary power.

Of particular importance, this system and techniques can be applied togeneral aviation and the marine community for the monitoring of flightand boat routings. For general aviation, this or a similar system can beused for monitoring the unauthorized approach of planes or boats topublic utilities, government buildings, bridges or any other structureand thereby warn of possible terrorist activities.

Portable versions of this system can also be used to monitor livingobjects such as pets, children, animals, cars, and trucks, or any otherasset. What is disclosed herein therefore is a truly general assetmonitoring system where the type of monitoring is only limited byrequirement that the sensors operate under low power and the device doesnot require connections to a power source, other than the internalbattery, or a wired source of communication. The communication link isgenerally expected to be via a transmitter and a LEO, geostationary orother satellite, however, it need not be the case and communication canbe by cell phone, an ad hoc peer-to-peer network, IEEE 801.11,Bluetooth, or any other wireless system. Thus, using the teachings of atleast one of the inventions disclosed herein, any asset can be monitoredby any of a large variety of sensors and the information communicatedwireless to another location which can be a central station, apeer-to-peer network, a link to the owners location, or, preferably, tothe Internet.

Additional areas where the principles of the invention can be used formonitoring other objects include the monitoring of electric fieldsaround wires to know when the wires have failed or been cut, themonitoring of vibrations in train rails to know that a train is comingand to enable tracking of the path of trains, the monitoring ofvibrations in a road to know that a vehicle is passing, the monitoringof temperature and/or humidity of a road to signal freezing conditionsso that a warning could be posted to passing motorists about theconditions of the road, the monitoring of vibrations or flow in a oilpipe to know if the flow of oil has stopped or being diverted so that adetermination may be made if the oil is being stolen, the monitoring ofinfrared or low power (MIR) radar signal monitoring for perimetersecurity, the monitoring of animals and/or traffic to warn animals thata vehicle is approaching to eliminate car to animal accidents and themonitoring of fluid levels in tanks or reservoirs. It is also possibleto monitor grain levels in storage bins, pressure in tanks, chemicals inwater or air that could signal a terrorist attack, a pollution spill orthe like, carbon monoxide in a garage or tunnel, temperature orvibration of remote equipment as a diagnostic of pending system failure,smoke and fire detectors and radiation. In each case, one or moresensors is provided designed to perform the appropriate, desiredsensing, measuring or detecting function and a communications unit iscoupled to the sensor(s) to enable transmission of the informationobtained by the sensor(s). A processor can be provided to control thesensing function, i.e., to enable only periodic sensing or sensingconditioned on external or internal events. For each of these and manyother applications, a signal can be sent to a satellite or othertelematics system to send important information to a need-to-knowperson, monitoring computer program, the Internet etc.

Three other applications of at least one of the inventions disclosedherein need particular mention. Periodically, a boat or barge impactswith the structure of a bridge resulting in the collapse of a road,railroad or highway and usually multiple fatalities. Usually such anevent can be sensed prior to the collapse of the structure by monitoringthe accelerations, vibrations, displacement, or stresses in thestructural members. When such an event is sensed, a message can be sentto a satellite and/or forwarded to the Internet, and thus to theauthorities and to a warning sign or signal that has been placed at alocation preceding entry onto the bridge. Alternately, the sensingdevice can send a signal directly to the relevant sign either inaddition or instead of to a satellite.

Sometimes the movement of a potentially hazardous cargo in itself is notsignificantly unless multiple such movements follow a pattern. Forexample, the shipment of moderate amounts of explosives forwarded to asingle location could signify an attack by terrorists. By comparing themotion of containers of hazardous materials and searching for patterns,perhaps using neural networks, fuzzy logic and the like, suchconcentrations of hazardous material can be forecasted prior to theoccurrence of a disastrous event. This information can be gleaned fromthe total picture of movements of containers throughout a local, stateor national area. Similarly, the movement of fuel oil and fertilizer byitself is usually not noteworthy but in combination using differentvehicles can signal a potential terrorist attack.

Many automobile owners subscribe to a telematics service such asOnStar®. The majority of these owners when queried say that theysubscribe so that if they have an accident and the airbag deploys, theEMS personnel will be promptly alerted. This is the most commonlydesired feature by such owners. A second highly desired feature relatesto car theft. If a vehicle is stolen, the telematics services can trackthat vehicle and inform the authorities as to its whereabouts. A thirdhighly desired feature is a method for calling for assistance in anyemergency such as the vehicle becomes stalled, is hijacked, runs off theroad into a snow bank or other similar event. The biggest negativefeature of the telematics services such as OnStar® is the high monthlycost of the service. See also section 9.2.

The invention described here can provide the three above-mentionedhighly desired services without requiring a high monthly fee. A simpledevice that communicates to a satellite or other telematics system canbe provided, as described above, that operates either on its own batteryand/or by connecting to the cigarette lighter or similar power source.The device can be provided with a microphone and neural networkalgorithm that has been trained to recognize the noise signature of anairbag deployment or the information that a crash transpired can beobtained from an accelerometer. Thus, if the vehicle is in an accident,the EMS authorities can be immediately notified of the crash along withthe precise location of the vehicle. Similarly, if the vehicle isstolen, its exact whereabouts can be determined through an Internetconnection, for example. Finally, a discrete button placed in thevehicle can send a panic signal to the authorities via a telematicssystem. Thus, instead of a high monthly charge, the vehicle owner wouldonly be charged for each individual transmission, which can be as low as$0.20 or a small surcharge can be added to the price of the device tocover such costs through averaging over many users. Such a system can bereadily retrofitted to existing vehicles providing most of advantages ofthe OnStar® system, for example, at a very small fraction of its cost.The system can reside in a “sleep” mode for many years until some eventwakes it up. In the sleep mode, only a few microamperes of current aredrawn and the battery can last the life of the vehicle. A wake-up can beachieved when the airbag fires and the microphone emits a current.Similarly, a piezo-generator can be used to wake up the system based onthe movement of a mass or diaphragm displacing a piezoelectric devicewhich then outputs some electrical energy that can be sensed by thesystem electronics. Similarly, the system can be caused to wake up by aclock or the reception of a proper code from an antenna. Such agenerator can also be used to charge the system battery extending itsuseful life. Such an OnStar®-like system can be manufactured forapproximately $100, depending on production volume and features.

The invention described above can be used in any of its forms to monitorfluids. For example, sensors can be provided to monitor fuel or oilreservoirs, tanks or pipelines and spills. Sensors can be arranged in,on, within, in connection with or proximate a reservoir, tank orpipeline and powered in the manner discussed above, and coupled to acommunication system as discussed above. When a property ofcharacteristic of the environment is detected by the sensor, forexample, detection of a fluid where none is supposed to be (which couldbe indicative of a spill), the sensor can trigger a communication systemto transmit information about the detection of the fluid to a remotesite which could send response personnel, i.e., clean-up personnel. Thesensors can be designed to detect any variables which could providemeaningful information, such as a flow sensor which could detectvariations in flow, or a chemical sensor which could detect the presenceof a harmful chemical, biological agent or a radiation sensor whichcould detect the presence of radioactivity. Appropriate action could betaken in response to the detection of chemicals or radioactivity.

Remote water monitoring is also contemplated in the invention sincewater supplies are potentially subject to sabotage, e.g., by theplacement of harmful chemicals or biological agents in the water supply.In this case, sensors would be arranged in, on, within, in connectionwith or proximate water reservoirs, tanks or pipelines and powered inthe manner discussed above, and coupled to a communication system asdiscussed above. Information provided by the sensors is periodicallycommunicated to a remote site at which it is monitored. If a sensordetects the presence of a harmful chemical or agent, appropriate actioncan be taken to stop the flow of water from the reservoir to municipalsystems.

Even the pollution of the ocean and other large bodies of waterespecially in the vicinity of a shore can now be monitored for oilspills and other occurrences.

Similarly, remote air monitoring is contemplated within the scope of theinvention. Sensors are arranged at sites to monitor the air and detect,for example, the presence of radioactivity and bacteria. The sensors cansend the information to a communication system which transmits theinformation to a remote site for monitoring. Detection of aberrations inthe information from the sensors can lead to initiation of anappropriate response, e.g., evacuation in the event of radioactivitydetection.

The monitoring of forests for fires is also a possibility with thepresent invention, although satellite imaging systems are the preferredapproach.

An additional application is the monitoring of borders such as the onbetween the United States and Mexico. Sensors can be placed periodicallyalong such a border at least partially in the ground that are sensitiveto vibrations, infrared radiation, sound or other disturbances. Suchsensor systems can also contain a pattern recognition system that istrained to recognize characteristic signals indicating the passing of aperson or vehicle. When such a disturbance occurs, the system can“wake-up” and receive and analyze the signal and if it is recognized, atransmission to a communication system can occur. Since the transmissionwould also contain either a location or an identification number of thedevice, the authorities would know where the border infraction wasoccurring.

Above, the discussion of the invention has included the use of alocation determining signal such as from a GPS or other locationdetermining system such as the use of time of arrival calculations fromreceptions from a plurality of cell phone antennas. If the device islocated in a fixed place where it is unlikely to move, then the locationof that place need only be determined once when the sensor system is putin place. The identification number of the device can then be associatedwith the device location in a database, for example. Thereafter, justthe transmission of the device ID can be used to positively identify thedevice as well as its location. Even for movable cargo containers, forexample, if the container has not moved since the last transmission,there is no need to expend energy receiving and processing the GPS orother location determining signals. If the device merely responds withits identification number, the receiving facility knows its location.The GPS processing circuitry can be reactivated if sensors on the assetdetermine that the asset has moved.

Once the satellite or other communication system has received a messagefrom the sensor system of at least one of the inventions disclosedherein, it can either store the information into a database or, morecommonly, it can retransmit or make available the data usually on theInternet where subscribers can retrieve the data and use it for theirown purposes. Since such sensor systems are novel to at least one of theinventions disclosed herein, the transmission of the data via theInternet and the business model of providing such data to subscribingcustomers either on an as-needed bases or on a push basis where thecustomer receives an alert is also novel. Thus, for example, a customermay receive an urgent automatically-generated e-mail message or even apop-up message on a particular screen that there is a problem with aparticular asset that needs immediate attention. The customer can be asubscriber, a law enforcement facility, or an emergency servicesfacility, among others.

An additional dimension exists with the use of the Skybitz system, forexample, where the asset mounted device has further wirelesscommunications with other devices in or on the asset. The fact thatcertain tagged items within or on the assets can be verified if a localarea network exists between the Skybitz device and other objects.Perhaps it is desired to check that a particular piece of test equipmentis located within an asset. Further perhaps it is desired to determinethat the piece of equipment is operating or operating within certainparameter ranges, or has a particular temperature etc. Perhaps it isdesired to determine whether a particular set of keys are in a key boxwherein the keys are fitted with an RFID tag and the box with a readerand method of communicating with the Skybitz device. The possibilitiesare endless for determining the presence or operating parameters of acomponent of occupying item of a remote asset and to periodicallycommunicate this information to an internet site, for example, using alow power asset monitoring system such as the Skybitz system.

The Skybitz or similar system can be used with cell phones to provide alocation determination in satisfaction to US Federal regulations. Theadvantage of this use of Skybitz is that it is available world wide anddoes not require special equipment at the cell phone station. This alsopermits an owner of a cell phone to determine its whereabouts for caseswhere it was lost or stolen. Naturally a similar system can be added toPDAs or other CD players, radios, or any other electronic device that ahuman may carry. Even non electronic devices such as car keys could beoutfitted with a Skybitz type device. It is unlikely that such a devicewould have a 10 year life but many of them have batteries that areperiodically charged and the others could have a very low duty cyclesuch that they last up to one year without replacement of the batteryand then inform the owner that the battery is low. This informationprocess could even involve the sending of an email message to theowner's email stating the location of the device and the fact that thebattery needs replacement.

Although several preferred embodiments are illustrated and describedabove, there are possible combinations using other signals and sensorsfor the components and different forms of the neural networkimplementation or different pattern recognition technologies thatperform the same functions which can be utilized in accordance with theinvention. Also, although the neural network and modular neural networkshave been described as an example of one means of pattern recognition,other pattern recognition means exist and still others are beingdeveloped which can be used to identify potential component failures bycomparing the operation of a component over time with patternscharacteristic of normal and abnormal component operation. In addition,with the pattern recognition system described above, the input data tothe system may be data which has been pre-processed rather than the rawsignal data either through a process called “feature extraction” or byvarious mathematical transformations. Also, any of the apparatus andmethods disclosed herein may be used for diagnosing the state ofoperation or a plurality of discrete components.

Although several preferred embodiments are illustrated and describedabove, there are possible combinations using other geometries, sensors,materials and different dimensions for the components that perform thesame functions. This invention is not limited to the above embodimentsand should be determined by the following claims. For example, theweight measuring apparatus and methods described above could be used inconjunction with a seat position sensor to provide for an accuratedetermination of the identification and location of the occupying itemof the seat. There are also numerous additional applications in additionto those described above. This invention is not limited to the aboveembodiments and should be determined by the following claims.

1. A vehicular seat including a weight determining system for obtainingan indication of the weight of an occupying item in the seat,comprising: a seat support structure; a cushion arranged on said seatsupport structure, said cushion having an upper surface over which theoccupying item is situated during occupancy of the seat, said cushionbeing arranged to deflect downward during occupant of the seat; and asensor system arranged to sense the downward deflection of said cushionand convert the downward deflection into an indication of the weight ofthe occupying item.
 2. The seat of claim 1, wherein said sensor systemcomprises an elongate cable, a cable support retaining a first end ofsaid cable and a displacement sensor arranged at a second end of saidcable for measuring linear variations of said cable which areconvertible into the indication of the weight of the occupying item. 3.The seat of claim 2, wherein said cable is arranged to stretch axiallyas a function of the weight of the occupying item and said displacementsensor is arranged to determine the axial stretching of said cable. 4.The seat of claim 2, wherein said displacement sensor comprises a rodconnected to said cable and arranged to move upon axial stretching ofsaid cable as a function of the weight of the occupying item, saiddisplacement sensor being arranged to measure the movement of said rod.5. The seat of claim 4, wherein said displacement sensor furthercomprises a cylinder having a channel in which said rod is movable, anda spring biased to return said rod to a rest position.
 6. The seat ofclaim 5, wherein said cylinder includes first and second windings of alinear variable differential transformer which are axially spaced apartfrom one another, movement of said rod being measured by the amount ofcoupling between said first and second windings,
 7. The seat of claim 2,wherein said displacement sensor further comprises biasing means forbiasing said cable into a non-displaced position in which it assumes inthe absence of an occupying item on the seat.
 8. The seat of claim 2,further comprising supports arranged at opposed edges of said cushion,said cable support and said displacement sensor being coupled to arespective one of said supports.
 9. The seat of claim 2, wherein saiddisplacement sensor is selected from a group consisting of a linearrheostat, a linear variable differential transformer and a linearvariable capacitor.
 10. The seat of claim 2, wherein said cushioncomprises a foam layer and a spring system arranged under said foamlayer, said cable being arranged under said spring system such thatdeflection of said spring system causes axial stretching of said cable.11. The seat of claim 1, wherein said cushion comprises a foam layer anda spring system arranged under said foam layer and which is in contactwith said sensor system.
 12. The seat of claim 1, further comprisingsupports arranged at opposed edges of said cushion, said sensor systembeing supported from said supports.
 13. The seat of claim 1, whereinsaid sensor system is arranged to convert the downward deflection intothe indication of the weight of the occupying item using a relationshipbetween the downward deflection and weight obtained experimentally. 14.The seat of claim 1, wherein said sensor system comprises at least onespring arranged under said cushion and to expand as a function of thepressure applied to said upper surface of said cushion, and at least oneforce-measuring device for measuring tension in said at least onespring.
 15. The seat of claim 14, wherein said at least oneforce-measuring device is a strain gage.
 16. The seat of claim 15,wherein said sensor system further comprises an interrogator forwirelessly interrogating said strain gage.
 17. The seat of claim 1,wherein said cushion comprises a foam layer and a spring system arrangedunder said foam layer, said sensor system comprising at least one straingage arranged in association with said spring system to measure strainin said spring system.
 18. The seat of claim 1, wherein said sensorsystem comprises at least one strain gage arranged in a bottom surfaceor support pan of said cushion to measure strain in said bottom surfaceor support pan.
 19. A method for obtaining an indication of the weightof an occupying item in a vehicular seat, comprising: arranging acushion on a support structure of the seat, the cushion having an uppersurface over which the occupying item is situated during occupancy ofthe seat; arranging a sensor system in a position in which itoperatively senses downward deflection of the cushion; and determiningthe weight of the occupying item when it applies pressure to the uppersurface of the cushion by sensing the downward deflection of the cushionand converting the downward deflection into an indication of the weightof the occupying item.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the step ofdetermining the weight of the occupying item comprises experimentallyderiving a relationship between downward deflection of the cushion andweight of an occupying item applying pressure to the upper surface ofthe cushion.
 21. A method for identifying an occupant of a vehicularseat, comprising: obtaining an indication of the weight of the occupantin accordance with claim 19, and classifying the occupant based at leastin part on the obtained indication of the weight of the occupant. 22.The method of claim 21, further comprising: determining an additionalmorphological characteristic of the occupant; and classifying theoccupant based at least in part on the determined additionalmorphological characteristic and the obtained indication of the weightof the occupant.
 23. A control system for controlling a vehiclecomponent based on occupancy of a seat having a seat support structureand a cushion arranged on the seat support structure, the cushion havingan upper surface over which an occupying item is situated duringoccupancy of the seat and being arranged to be displaced downward duringoccupant of the seat, the control system comprising: a sensor systemarranged to sense the downward deflection of the cushion and convert thedownward deflection into an indication of the weight of the occupyingitem; an adjustment system arranged to adjust the component in thevehicle; and a processor coupled to said sensor system and to saidadjustment system for determining an adjustment for the component bysaid adjustment system based at least in part on the indication of theweight of the occupying item provided by said sensor system.
 24. Thecontrol system of claim 23, wherein said adjustment system is a systemfor adjusting deployment of an occupant restraint device.
 25. Thecontrol system of claim 24, wherein the occupant restraint device is anairbag and said deployment adjustment system is arranged to control atleast one of flow of gas into an airbag, flow of gas out of an airbag,rate of generation of gas and amount of generated gas.